One More Day--On Hiatus
by ashlynnb14
Summary: Mia is home from New York after being away for ten years. She isn't happy about asking for her father's help, but she's out of options. Who is Mia and why is she back in Charming? Will her father accept her back into his life or will she have to try and find a new family? What if the problems she left behind don't stay there? Indefinite Hiatus
1. Chapter 1

She pulled her sports utility vehicle along side the white Mercedes that was parked in the gravel drive in front of the stables. She figured the car had to belong to her father's wife, but hoped she wouldn't come face to face with the woman quite yet. After a four day drive from New York, the last thing Mia wanted to do was put on a show for what was legally referred to as her step-mother. It was hard enough to come back to Charming after swearing she never would ten years ago.

"Can I help you, Miss?" A kind looking stable hand walked around the building to see Mia sitting in her SUV that he'd never seen before. The brunette nodded and unbuckled the seat belt before opening the door, careful not to hit the gentleman. She didn't miss the way his eyes traveled down from her eyes to her booted feet and then back up again. It was a common reaction, so she tried not to hold it against him just yet.

"Could you let Elliot know that Mia is here to see him, please?" She pulled her sunglasses off and dropped them in her oversized, snake skin purse. The man hesitated for a minute, wondering how the woman knew the boss, but nodded all the same. She waited until he had turned his back and taken a few steps to let out a deep breath she had been holding in. Coming to her father after so many years was already taking a large toll on her pride and she had yet to even see him.

"Mia! What are you doing here?" Elliot Oswald took his deerskin gloves off and stuffed them in the back pocket of his jeans. When Alonzo had told him that Mia was here to see him, he never dreamed that it would be his daughter. She had obviously grown up in the past ten years, but she still had the same blue eyes and tan skin. Her nose reminded him so much of Maria.

"I need your help, Elliot. I know I should have called, but I probably wouldn't have made it out here if I talked to you first. Do you have time to talk?" She tried to swallow down the uncomfortable feeling that was starting to creep into her chest. Asking for help from her father that she had not spoken to in almost eight years would be difficult under the best circumstances.

"Sure, Mia. What's going on?" He led her over to a wrought iron table with a large umbrella and motioned for her to take a seat. She took another deep breath and slowly lowered herself down onto the cushioned seat. Her back was still tender from her last night in New York. Elliot didn't miss the slow, cautious way Mia sat down.

"Where do I even start?" She ran her fingers through her chestnut brown hair that hadn't looked so unkempt since she was a little girl. There just wasn't any time to stop and primp on the road. Mia barely took the time to shower in the truck stops along the way.

"I have time, Mia. Why don't you start at the beginning? What have you been doing in New York?" Elliot knew that whatever ran his eldest daughter back into Charming had to be bad. She was headstrong and always took pride in taking care of herself since she first started talking and walking. Maria always said that it was her Hispanic heritage coming through.

"I've been doing hair and make-up at a few shops in Manhattan and Brooklyn. My roommate Heidi and I shared a tiny apartment in Soho and I saved every penny I could to get that." She pointed her hand in the direction of her suv. Elliot had wondered how she had afforded a Land Rover Evoque, but thought it rude to ask without knowing much about her life for the last decade. He turned his eyes back to Mia and nodded, urging her to continue talking.

"I met this guy in a club a couple years ago. He seemed really nice. He's educated and is an up and coming broker in his firm. I agreed to move in with him a few months ago but it didn't work out. That's why I'm here." Mia held the rest of the truth close to her chest. She wasn't ready to talk about specifics or why she had ended things with Matthew. Elliot knew there was more to the story and knew that whoever she was running from wouldn't have to try hard to track her down by her last name alone.

"I'm not going to push you right now, Mia. Eventually, I'm going to need more than that though. I'm happy to see you, sweetheart." He smiled warmly and took his daughter's hand. It was his way of trying to comfort her, but it felt uncomfortable and unnatural to both Elliot and Mia.

"Are there any decent hotels around here yet? I really need to shower and get some sleep." Mia stood and dug her Ray-ban sunglasses out of her bag. Elliot shook his head and followed her over to the orange Land Rover she had worked so hard for.

"You aren't staying in some hotel, even if they were decent, Mia. I'll give Karen a call and let her know you're headed up to the house. We can figure something more permanent out tonight if you'd like." Elliot had no delusions about Mia staying at his home for any length of time. She and his wife Karen were polar opposites and would most likely start arguing before the day's end. Mia's lip curled as her nose scrunched, but she nodded in agreement, realizing she didn't have many options.

Elliot made sure she got out of the gravel driveway without any problems before calling his wife. As he expected, Karen sounded none to thrilled about her husband's daughter being back in town, much less headed over to their home. Elliot pacified her by assuring her that Mia wouldn't be staying with them long. He ended the call and hovered his thumb over the speed dial for Clay Morrow. Mia's reasoning for coming home to Charming left a lot to be learned and Clay had resources to get information without warrants or leaving a record.

After a moment, he shook his head and slipped the phone back in his pocket. He would give Mia the benefit of the doubt as well as some time to settle in. The last thing he wanted to do was betray her trust so soon after she came back into his life. He just hoped the onslaught of memories of Maria would subside before he had to go home for dinner.

Mia parked her suv next to yet another white, luxury sedan and silently wondered if Elliot had allowed Karen to choose all of their vehicles. She checked her reflection in the mirror and instantly regretted it. The lack of sleep over the last few days had granted her with dark circles under her eyes and a general, tired appearance. Instead of wasting any energy on trying to cover the imperfections with makeup, Mia climbed out of the drivers seat and headed around to the back of the suv to get a couple bags.

She left the majority of her luggage in the vehicle since she planned on staying at her father's house no longer than one night, two at the very most. She walked up the steps to the familiar white house and pressed the doorbell button in slowly with her middle finger. There were a few loud barks before a young girl answered the door. Mia's heart sank a little to see how much Tristen had grown up. When she left, Tristen was barely stringing together complete sentences.

"Mia? I can't believe you're home!" The young girl ignored the bags Mia was holding and wrapped her arms around her half-sister's waist. The two of them had stayed in some type of touch through email and the occasional phone call despite the large age difference between them.

"Hey babe. You're kind of killing my arms here. Who said you could grow up?" Mia smiled as Tristen let her go and moved aside to let her walk inside. Looking at the two, no one would ever guess that they had any common blood. Mia took after her mother Maria and Tristen took after both Elliot and Karen.

"Mia, this is quite the surprise. If you would have let someone know you were coming into town I would have gotten the guest room set up for you. I was able to find some sheets and pillows though. They're sitting on the chair as you walk in. Tristen, why don't you show Mia upstairs." With that, Karen turned away from the girls and headed back into the living room with a glass of wine. Mia and Tristen shared a look before heading upstairs to the guest room.

"You look tired, Mia. There's towels in the bathroom if you want to take a shower." Tristen pointed to the door next to the closet before moving to help Mia make the bed. Neither one of them spoke as the straightened the sheets.

"Thanks, Tristen. We can have a girl's night soon, okay?" Mia gave her little sister a smile. Tristen nodded and gave Mia another, quick hug before leaving the room, closing the door behind her.

She stared at the door for a moment before turning away to take advantage of a long shower that didn't cost her all of the quarters in the Evoques' coin tray. Mia pulled her white t-shirt off and turned her back to the mirror. She hissed at the purple and blue bruise across her lower back that lined up perfectly with the handrail in Matthew's apartment. Her eyes fell on the hand shaped bruises on her thighs as she pulled her jeans off, causing her breath to hitch.

"Elliot, this is not up for negotiation. Mia cannot stay here. She is a bad influence for Tristen." Karen's voice carried down the hall that Mia was currently walking down. Her words didn't come as a surprise after the almost silent dinner the Oswalds had shared the night before. It was obvious that Karen was less than fond of Mia, despite the decade that had passed since their last interaction.

Mia remembered it like it was yesterday and assumed Karen did as well. She had just come home from the junior prom and it was clear that she had far too many adult beverages. The white Mercedes she had borrowed for the special occasion had a large scrape on the side and was parked in Karen's prized rose garden. Mia slurred a rude hello to Karen, only to be met with a sharp slap across the face. That sting on her cheek had sobered her enough to string together plenty of insults about how Elliot always loved Maria more than Karen and how much of an uptight bitch she was.

Mia was only seventeen at the time but that didn't stop Karen from kicking her out. Elliot had been out of town on business and only heard about Mia leaving home after the fact. By then, Mia was already on a plane to New York where her last remaining relative on her mother's side was living at the time. Mia and Elliot spoke at least a couple times a month and on holidays until Karen put a stop to it. She had threatened to leave and take Tristen with her and Elliot was so scared to lose his younger daughter that he had caved in to his wife's demands and severed ties with Mia.

"She's right, Elliot. I can't stay here. The rest is bullshit but whatever." Mia was dressed in jeans, a black t-shirt and leather boots with her hair cascading down her back in waves and dark eyeliner circling her eyes to bring out the bright blue color that she had gotten from Elliot. It was the one feature she had gotten from him.

"Fine, fine. I'm not going to try and push the two of you together. God knows it never worked before. Mia, I've got a rental property in town that you can stay in for however long you'd like. It's furnished and everything." Elliot gave Mia a smile and extended a set of keys out to her. She eyed them before slowly bringing her hand up to take them.

"How much is that going to run me?" Mia had some money in her checking account and a little in her savings, but without a job to contribute to the accounts, it wouldn't last long. Elliot shook his head and stood up from the barstool, abandoning the toast and juice Karen had set in front of him.

"You aren't paying me, Mia. No matter what's happened in the past, you're my daughter. I'm not charging you rent." Mia tried to keep the smile off of her face and out of her heart. It was hard to believe that he would finally reclaim her after all these years, but that didn't stop her from being the slightest bit hopeful.

"Elliot, I think that's something we need to discuss before you make any promises." Karen snapped as she slammed the refrigerator door closed. Elliot grabbed his suit jacket off of the back of the stool and shook his head.

"Karen, you don't get a say in this. Tell Tristen I will pick her up from school this afternoon." With that, Elliot headed out of the kitchen. He paused at the front door and picked up one of Mia's bags. She looked at Karen and hitched her shoulder before following behind Elliot and grabbing her second bag.

Mia followed Elliot's car towards town easily; the roads had not changed since she left. She had the windows down and her radio up, enjoying the warm California morning. It was the beginning of October and New York had already started to get cold, so she was delighted to get back to the more hospitable weather of the West Coast.

Her radio was soon drowned out by the sound of several Harley Davidson motorcycles headed in the opposite direction. Mia took her eyes off Elliot's car to watch the backs of the bikers in her side mirror. The reapers on each of their leather-covered backs confirmed her assumption that it was Charming's own Sons of Anarchy Motorcycle Club. She was familiar with the club, as everyone that spent any amount of time in Charming was, but unlike the rest of the town, she was glad to see they were still around.

"If you need anything or just want to talk, don't hesitate to call me, Mia. I don't want you to be a stranger." Elliot was standing in the doorway after having given Mia a tour of the apartment that included a full pantry and refrigerator. Mia nodded and gave her father a genuine smile. She was thankful for his generosity and hoped that coming back to Charming would be the fresh start she needed.

"Thank you, Elliot. We'll set up something for dinner one night soon. I hope you don't mind I'm planning on spending time with Tristen." Mia's eyes locked on to her father's as he nodded.

"I'm glad to hear that, Mia. She's been through a lot for a little girl." Mia knew exactly what he was referring to. Tristen had called her the day she'd gotten out of the hospital. Something about thinking back to that phone call made her reach out and hug Elliot. It wasn't something she planned on doing, but it turned out that they both seemed to need it. The hug didn't last long, but it cleared quite a lot of the tension between them.

Mia walked around the apartment a few more times after Elliot left. The furniture wasn't so much her taste as Karen's, but it was free and she wouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth. It was a two bedroom, two bath apartment with an open concept living space. She loved that she could see out of one of the many windows from any spot she stood in.

Night fell and the elation Mia had felt earlier gave way to anxiety. She had never actually lived by herself before and knowing that Matthew was probably going to start looking for her soon made her anxious. After flipping through a hundred channels and unpacking the majority of her clothes, Mia decided she needed to get out of the apartment.

With a quick refresh of her makeup and hair, the addition of a leather jacket and a pair of large silver hoop earrings, Mia grabbed her bag and keys. She made sure to lock the deadbolt more from habit than any real fear of crime in Charming. Her familiarity with the town's bars was less than adequate. Having left at seventeen, she wasn't exactly a regular at any of the bars before moving to New York.

Instead of risking choosing a sleazy bar in walking distance, Mia put her phone away and climbed into her suv. She made the short drive over to the Hairy Dog, choosing it only because it was the one bar she'd snuck into when she was younger. It wasn't crowded by her definition, but for a Thursday night in Charming, the bar was fairly busy. She grabbed her id and some cash out of her purse, deciding she'd rather not tote it around inside with her. Instead, she stuffed it under her seat and locked the doors before heading inside.

"What craft beers do you have?" Mia asked the older gentleman as he put a coaster down in front of her at the bar. He raised his brow and wondered where the girl thought she was.

"Closest thing to craft we got is Blue Moon, missy." The laugh in his voice irritated Mia a little, but she decided not to buy into his attempt to get a rise out of her.

"Blue Moon it is. Do I at least get an orange slice with it?" She got her answer quickly as he set a glass down in front of her. It was full to the brim with beer, but no orange. She shook her head with a sigh but started drinking it all the same. As she nursed her beer, she looked around and realized that the Hairy Dog wasn't what it used to be. The years had not been kind to the building or the furnishings and the crowd looked a little shady.

"Damn, brunette, four o'clock." Tig said as his eyes fell on the girl sitting at the bar. He couldn't see much from his spot across the bar, but from what he saw, she was the best looking thing he'd ever seen in the rundown bar. Juice looked up from the ashtray and saw the only female sitting at the bar.

"She can't be from around here." Juice said with confidence. Happy didn't hide the fact that he was turning around with the sole purpose to look at her. He turned back and shook his head in agreement. Tig raised his brow at both of them and put his beer down.

"Why the hell not?" He knew the Hairy Dog wasn't exactly the best place for a young woman to frequent, especially alone, but it wasn't that bad. Happy laughed and shook his head.

"She's a little dark to be here. Won't come back here." Happy didn't have to get longer than a five second glance at the woman at the bar to know she wasn't white. Anything darker than a saltine cracker caught a hard time at the Hairy Dog. The only reason he and Juice didn't was the reapers on their backs.

"What? Nah, man. She probably just tans or something." Tig wouldn't mind if she was green with antenna sticking out of her head, but he didn't think Happy was right. Juice laughed and knocked the ember of his cigarette off into the ashtray.

"You're trying to tell the Latinos who is and isn't white? Speaking of." Juice motioned his tattooed head towards the bar and all three men turned their eyes in the brunette's direction.

"You lost, kid?" A burly looking man with liquor on his breath asked Mia as she started on the vodka cranberry she had ordered. She wondered if this was some new form of pick up line that hadn't made it to the East Coast yet.

"No, actually I'm not." She met the man's glare and wondered what his problem was. Normally, men were welcome to attractive women being in a bar. She didn't consider herself to be the best thing that ever walked the earth, but she knew she had a lot going for her.

"Could have fooled me. We try to keep the crowd light around here, chica." He snarled and grabbed a beer from the smirking bartender. It took Mia a minute to figure out what he was hinting at. Racism wasn't something she ever had to deal with or even think about back in New York.

"Yeah? Do you want to tell those two about the contrast issue you've got?" Mia pointed at two of the men that were watching her confrontation from their table across the room. The guy glanced back at the two Sons of Anarchy members she had pointed out. He turned back and glared at Mia again.

"Run along, woman." The guy pointed at the door and Mia felt her switch flip. She threw the rest of her drink down her throat and stood up quickly. She held up a finger to the racist man and stormed over to the group of bikers sitting across the bar. Tig's eyes were dancing as he watched in awe.

"Either of you feel like helping a girl out? Apparently I'm too fucking ethnic to be in here." Her hand was planted on her hip and the three men looked at her dumbfounded. She had asked in Spanish to hopefully avoid finding out that the white guy with dark, curly hair agreed with the pig by the bar.

"Speak English, girl. Come on Juice, lady needs knights in black leather." Happy stood up and threw his shot of Jack Daniel's back before tossing the glass back down on the table. Juice was a little embarrassed that she had expected him to know Spanish, but was more than happy to help a beautiful woman in need. Tig tagged along because he just hated stupid rednecks.

"There a problem, asshole?" Happy didn't even have to scowl at the man that had been harassing Mia to intimidate him. His normal, emotionless expression always made people uncomfortable, even in his best moods. Juice, on the other hand, glared at the guy and rested his hand on the handle of his knife that hung from his belt. Juice had to work pretty hard not to look sweet. Tig, though, Tig had a crazy smile that just begged the white supremacist to start some shit so he could have an excuse to fight.

"I don't suggest you come here without your brown friends, bitch." The man tossed some cash on the bar to settle his tab and stormed out of the bar. Mia rolled her eyes and shook her head.

"Thanks for that. I'm," Mia was about to introduce herself when she heard the unmistakable sound of her car alarm going off. "Son of a bitch."

Tig, Juice, and Happy shared a confused glance before following the girl outside. She was standing next to an orange, late model Land Rover and screaming after the red truck that was speeding away from the bar. Mia opened her passenger door and then slammed it shut again, sending the broken glass flying both in and out of her car.

"Fucking asshole." Mia kicked her suv's tire to avoid damaging her prized possession any further. She couldn't believe that man had actually broken her window out and stolen her purse. With a growl, she pulled her phone out of her back pocket.

"Who are you calling?" Happy asked as Juice and Tig got on their bikes to go chase the truck down. They didn't ask or tell him to stay behind, he just did. Mia stopped at the '1' and looked up at him.

"The police." She didn't think there should be any question about who she would be calling after her car was vandalized. Happy shook his head and grabbed her phone out of her hands.

"Too late. They're going to take care of it." Happy explained, clearing the '91' off of her phone. Mia sighed and slapped her hand on the side of her leg. She should have known a member of the Sons of Anarchy would find calling the police irrational.

"Follow me." Happy ordered, pointing at her suv as he walked over to his motorcycle, slipping the woman's phone in the inside pocket of his kutte. Mia looked from him to her suv and muttered her objections under her breath. She climbed into the driver's seat after carefully brushing the glass out of her seat.

Mia stopped the car and watched the biker back his motorcycle into an empty spot alongside several other motorcycles. They all looked fairly similar but you could see a few differences in airbrushing and details that set them apart. The man who had taken her phone pointed at a parking spot across from where he had just parked his bike.

"Can I have my phone back now?" Mia asked as she met Happy in the middle of the parking lot. He looked at her for a minute before pulling it out of his pocket and passing it over to her. She slid it back into the pocket of her jeans, accidently hitting her bruise with the heel of her hand. Happy caught the quick grimace before it was replaced with a forced smile.

"We have beer." Mia furrowed her brow at his statement. She looked from her suv to the garage that was obviously closed and figured she didn't have anything better to do as she waited for her purse to be returned. She nodded and Happy turned his back to her, leading her into the clubhouse she hadn't been inside of for a decade.

The last time she step foot in the clubhouse, she had been looking for her friend Tara. They had plans to hang out, but Tara wasn't at home when Mia had gone to pick her up. Tara's father had been in a drunken stupor and Mia assumed that her friend was either at Gemma Teller-Morrow's house or the clubhouse. The clubhouse was closer so she checked their first. Low and behold, she had rushed back into the arms of Jax Teller who she had broken up with a few weeks prior.

"What do you want?" Happy asked the girl that seemed to be in some weird daze. She blinked a couple times and looked up at him. Her eyes moved to scan the bar behind him and she smiled.

"Yuengling, please." Happy nodded and slammed his ringed hand on the bar. Mia watched with amusement as a young man hurried over and looked at Happy and then Mia.

"Yuengling and Sam Adams." He rasped as the prospect stared at the girl behind him. Happy turned back to Mia who was watching the prospect with a laugh in her eyes.

"Like, mixed?" The prospect asked, immediately realizing he had put his foot in his mouth. Happy didn't even have to say anything as he turned around and made eye contact with the prospect. Seconds later, a bottle of each appeared in front of Happy and the prospect hurried to the other end of the bar, even though it was fairly dead.

"I think you may want to look for another bartender." Mia said with a laugh as she slammed the bottle cap against the bar to pop it off. Happy's eyebrow quirked as she quickly put the bottle to her lips to catch the foam erupting out of it. He couldn't help imagine how her full lips would feel on him.

"Yeah, probably." He used the bottle opener on his belt buckle to open his own beer and stared at Mia. She was hot, but not like the croweaters or sweetbutts. They pranced around with their asses and boobs hanging out and the woman in front of Happy was fully covered from the neck down. Somehow, that was sexier than the former. He could tell she was blessed with Latino curves even underneath her leather jacket. He'd gotten a pretty good look at her ass when she got out of her suv. Out of all that, the thing he couldn't get past was those damn lips. They were full and he wondered if they were as soft as they looked.

"Ta Da!" Tig burst into the clubhouse with his arm stretched out in front of him. Mia's purse was hanging off the very tip of his fingers as if it was going to bite him. She put her third beer down and hopped off the barstool, rushing to get her purse.

"Thank you so much!" She pulled Tig into a hug and he smirked at how her boobs pressed into his chest. Mia's eyes fell on Juice who's white shirt had some specks of blood on it. She looked him over quickly and realized it wasn't his. She stepped out of Tig's arms and hugged Juice tightly. He blushed a little and hugged her back. If hot women were this appreciative, he was going to apply to be the town's resident purse retriever.

"It's not a problem, doll." Juice had a full smile on his face that made Mia smile back reflexively. She stepped out of his arms and let out a sigh of relief. Now all she had to worry about was getting home and getting her window replaced before anything else was stolen out of her suv.

"You need a ride?" Happy was standing behind her and had taken the opportunity to stare at her ass as she hugged Juice and Tig. He hadn't planned on giving her a ride until he caught a glimpse of black and blue on her lower back. Mia bit her bottom lip and looked at him for a second before answering. Out of the three of them, he was the most dangerous looking.

"I can drive." She said, holding her keys up as if it were some type of proof. Happy shook his head and took her keys. She wondered why he kept taking her stuff away.

"Probably but your ride needs a window. It's parked at a garage. Why drive it home just to bring it back?" Happy put the keys in his pocket and studied the woman's eyes. They were a light blue color that, mixed with the lightness of her brown skin, told him she had to have a white parent.

"You win." Mia surprised herself by giving in so easily. He had a point and her suv would probably be safer behind their locked gate than parked on the street over night. She thanked the two men that had gotten her purse back before following the taller biker back outside. She realized she only knew two of their names. Tig and Juice. She didn't know which was which of the two men inside, but the man she was walking with wasn't either one.

"Here. You can put that in there." Happy said as he handed her his helmet and opened a saddle bag to put her huge bag inside. He wondered why women insisted on carrying a fucking suitcase around all the time.

"Uh, I'd rather not." Mia put her bag down into the saddlebag he had opened for her, but she shook her head and tried to give him the helmet back. She really had no desire to share head sweat with someone she didn't know. Happy took the helmet from her and put it down on her head, causing her to yelp with surprise.

"There." He ignored her glare and snapped the strap beneath her chin before straddling his bike. Mia rolled her eyes and climbed on behind him instead of starting a fight over a perfectly logical helmet. She would just have to wash her hair again before she went to bed.

Happy never took it slow on his bike and he wasn't going to start just because a woman was on the back. Her arms squeezed around him tightly as he headed over to the address she had given him. As with everything in Charming, it wasn't far from Teller-Morrow. Mia's veins were pumping with adrenaline by the time Happy stopped the bike in front of her apartment that was above the town's post office.

"Thank you." She smiled and passed his helmet back over to him. He nodded and hung it on his handlebar as he cut the engine off. Mia wondered if he thought she was the type of person to invite him to bed just for giving her a ride home. She didn't know what to say past thank you, so she just turned her back to him and headed up the stairs to her apartment. She got to the door and started searching in her bag for her keys.

Happy watched her dig around in her bag for a minute before getting off his bike and walking up the stairs. He jingled the keys and watched her jump back a little. It wasn't natural for someone to be that jumpy, even around him. As she turned the keys in the door, he wondered if her bruise had anything to do with almost jumping off the stairs.

"What's your name?" Mia asked, looking up at the man and handing her keys back to him. She wasn't blind to the numerous tattoos covering his arms and the one on his head, she just tried to ignore them to avoid inviting him in and falling into a damsel in distress stereotype.

"Happy. What's your bruise from?" Happy asked as he put the keys back in the pocket of his jeans that didn't have two phones in it.

"Mia, wait, what?" Mia automatically thought he would have asked her name in return but she realized he hadn't. He had asked about her bruise. The only one he could have possibly seen was the one on her back.

"I fell." Happy wasn't stupid. He knew she was lying even if she hadn't been staring at his arms when she said it. Lying irritated him to no ends. He took a step towards her and shook his head.

"You're a bad liar, Mia." She swallowed hard and pressed her back into the door as he got closer. Their faces were mere inches apart and she could smell mint and leather. Just as soon as he had closed the space between them, he backed away.

"Your car should be done tomorrow afternoon." Happy said before turning back down the stairs. He climbed on his bike and stared up at Mia until she disappeared into her apartment. A light flipped on above him and he started his bike.

**Funny story, I started this off thinking I was going to write a Juice/Mia story but I just don't know if it's going to go that way anymore. If you've read any of my other fanfics, you know I have a tendency to write about Happy. I just love him! Regardless of who Mia ends up with, I think I'm going to try and make Happy a little harder to get to know than I have in my other stories. As usual, I don't own any SOA characters :) Let me know how you like this story!**


	2. Chapter 2

Mia woke up early with a headache that she was plagued with any time she drank beer. Liquor and wine never really bothered her, but beer always came with a price. She still drank it though, if only to keep from getting too drunk in public places. Mia looked at herself in the mirror as she brushed her teeth and groaned through the foamy toothpaste that filled her mouth.

Jet lag had taken its toll and Mia had fallen asleep without so much as wiping her makeup off. It was something she never did having seen first hand what that type of abuse did to your skin over the years. In addition to her raccoon eyes, Mia remembered that she had worn Happy's helmet on the way home. She ran her free hand over her hair and snarled her lip. It wasn't dirty by any means, but she felt as if she'd let her hair be violated by that helmet.

Mia spit the mouthful of toothpaste into the sink and ran the water to clean the bowl of any left over foam. She hated left over toothpaste in the sink, which she had had to endure during the short time she lived with Matthew. Mia frowned at how easily her mind led her to such unpleasant memories. Of course, they weren't all bad or she never would have stayed with him for so long. The bruising on her thighs and back were still dark and tender as she stripped down and started the shower. She glanced at her back through the mirror and wondered if it was ever going to start to heal.

"Mia, I forbid you to go to that club! I don't care if it's Heidi's birthday or the president's birthday. You aren't dancing anymore so you've got no business going back there." Matthew slammed his hand into the door to keep her from pulling it open. It was yet another fight about yet another rule he wanted to impose on her. She shook her head and stormed back towards the stairs. If he wanted to be such an asshole, she wasn't going to stick around anymore.

"Where are you going, Mia? I'm not done talking to you." He yelled as he rounded the corner. Mia paused on the step and turned to face him as he stopped beside her.

"I'm done, Matthew. You have no right to tell me where I can and cannot go. I'm getting my stuff and going back to Heidi's." Mia was going to keep going, but the wind was knocked out of her when Matthew slammed his hands into her hips, knocking her back into the handrail.

Mia shook the memory out of her mind and stepped into the now steaming shower. It was hard enough to think about the good times, she certainly didn't want to think about the bad. When her relationship with Matt was good, it was really good; but, as Newton said, for every action there must be an equal and opposite reaction, so when it was bad, it was really bad.

She let the hot water burn the thoughts out of her head as she scrubbed her body with her favorite coconut body wash. By the time she was ready to turn the water temperature down to wash her hair, the entire shower smelled like a tropical paradise. Mia shivered a little as the cool water hit her back from rinsing her shampoo out. As a cosmetologist, Mia knew the importance of washing her hair in as cold of water as she could stand, but it didn't make it any more enjoyable.

Mia shivered as she dried herself off with a fluffy white towel and padded into the bedroom she had decided to stay in. It was identical in size to the other room, but this one faced the east so she could catch the rising sun in the large windows. She plugged her iPod into the stereo and danced around the room to 'Uptown Girl' as she got dressed. She shimmied into a pair of red skinny pants and flipped through her closet looking for her denim shirt.

Eventually, Mia found the shirt and finished getting dressed before styling her hair, doing her makeup, and fixing herself some toast. Her phone vibrated against the countertop and Mia raised her brow at the caller id that read: unknown. She twisted her mouth and let it ring a couple more times before finally deciding to answer it.

"Hello?" She popped a couple of Advil and washed it down with water as she listened to the other end of the line. There was a lot of noise in the background and the caller wasn't saying anything.

"Mia?" Happy was surprised she finally answered the phone. It had been ringing for a while and he was sure it would roll over to her voicemail. He walked out of the garage so that he could hear her a little better.

"Yeah, is this Happy?" She suddenly wondered if she had remembered his name correctly. It was an unusual name and it made her doubt her intoxicated memory even further.

"Yeah, your Land Rover is done." He lit a cigarette and looked over at her orange suv. He wondered what in the hell would possess someone to buy an orange car, much less an orange Land Rover.

"Oh, okay. I'll be by in a few minutes to get it then." She almost ended the call when she heard him make a noise. Mia paused for a moment, wondering if that was intended for her.

"How are you getting here?" Happy was curious to know if she had some other obnoxiously colored car she was going to show up in.

"Walk?" Mia offered with a shrug that Happy of course could not see. She realized she would have to change shoes, of course, but it wasn't that long of a walk to the garage.

"No. I'm on my way." Happy ended the call by snapping the phone shut and flipped his cigarette away. He was never the type of person to volunteer for good deeds, but he felt the need to see this through since she'd gotten in to the mess just by being darker than the asshole at the bar; the asshole that Tig and Juice had put in the hospital last night. Happy knew that, had he been there, he probably would have gone ahead and killed him.

Mia wanted to insist he not take the time to come get her, but it was too late. Part of her appreciated the generosity, but a more dominant and realistic part of her wondered what he was expecting in return. Before she even closed the door all the way behind her, the phone in her purse was vibrating again. Mia paused, not closing the door in case it was Happy telling her to go ahead and walk over instead.

"Mia?" It was Tristen's voice on the other end of the call, so Mia went ahead and closed the door before heading downstairs to wait by the curb for Happy. She smiled at the realization that she and Tristen were finally in the same state again, much less the same town.

"Hey doll! What's up?" She heard a bell in the background and assumed Tristen was still at school. That made her wonder why exactly her sister would be calling her at that exact moment.

"Uh, do you think you could come get me? I'm at lunch right now and I really don't want to got back to class." Tristen's questions sounded pretty urgent to Mia and that made her even more concerned. She looked down the street at the sound of a motorcycle approaching and nodded her head.

"Yeah, I'll be there before lunch is over. I've just got to do something real quick, okay?" Happy stopped the bike in front of her and took off his helmet, holding it out for her to put on. He didn't try to hide the fact that he was checking her out as she ended the phone call and put his helmet on without arguing. Her denim shirt was only held together by the two buttons at the bottom, so he was able to see a lot more than he had last night.

"Tig! Who's Land Rover is in the lot?" Gemma put her bag down on her desk and started sorting through the mail she had picked up on her way in. Tig looked out of the garage and noticed the orange suv from last night's adventure had a brand new window installed. He didn't exactly wake up early today, but he still couldn't understand how it was fixed that fast.

"Uh, don't really know, Gem. Hot brunette was at the Hairy Dog last night and ran into some trouble. Last I saw that car, it had a busted passenger window." Tig shrugged and looked back towards the suv just as Happy pulled into the lot with what looked to be the broad from last night on his bitch seat. Gemma turned her attention to the woman getting off of Happy's bike and tried to place where she had seen her before.

Mia was smiling as Happy handed her keys back to her and pointed at the suv. She was thankful to see that the tint matched the rest of the windows and who ever had installed it had managed to do so without damaging any of the door. She pushed her sunglasses up towards her messy bun and walked over to the office to settle the bill quickly.

"Hey, I'm sorry to rush you but I really need to get going. How much do I owe you for the Land Rover?" She dug her checkbook out of her purse and waited for Gemma to tell her a price. Mia felt rude for not taking the time to chat with Gemma, but she was focused on getting to Tristen as soon as possible.

"Well, I don't have an invoice for it." Gemma said as she shuffled through some paper, all while still trying to place who on earth the girl was. Her eyes were familiar and she could have sworn she had seen her around before. The New York license plates and the Northern accent threw her for a loop though. The only person from New York she knew personally was Juice.

"There isn't one. I got it." Happy said from behind Mia. She turned around and surprised him with a frown. He didn't expect her to turn down a free window replacement, especially on a car like that. Her frown quickly turned into a scowl as she scribbled her signature on a check. She slammed it on Gemma's desk and headed out to her car without another word.

"So who is she?" Tig asked as Gemma picked up the check and looked at the name. She shook her head and ripped it up, refusing the three hundred dollars Mia had made out to the garage.

"That, Tig, is trouble with a capital T. I just wonder what chased her back into town. Have Chucky take over in the office, Tig. I'm going to go see Oswald." Gemma was no stranger to Mia Oswald. She and Jax had been in the same school and shared classes all throughout their youth. The two were never close friends, but Mia had a reputation as a wild child and Gemma had personally bailed Mia and Tara out of jail more than Elliot Oswald would like to admit.

"What the hell did I miss?" Tig asked as he tore his eyes away from Gemma's Navigator pulling out of the lot to look at Happy. Happy shrugged and looked down at the ripped up check that was lying on the desk. For some reason, the girl's reaction had both irritated and intrigued him. He headed back towards the clubhouse and reminded himself that bitches were crazy, no matter how hot they were. Tig frowned and threw his hands up in the air out of frustration and his unsustainable desire to know what was going on.

Mia pulled up to Charming Middle/High School and parked in a visitor spot near the front of the school. She was reaching for the door handle when her phone beeped with a text message. Tristen had texted her and asked her to pull around close to the bleachers by the football field. Mia shook her head and turned the car back on. It was clear that Tristen was ditching school and so she wanted to avoid anyone seeing her leave.

"Let's just go. I'll explain as you drive." Tristen said as she jumped in the passenger seat and tossed her backpack in the back seat. Mia glanced over at her younger sister with doubt, but did as she asked.

"Considering I'm technically kidnapping you at this point, how about you start telling me why you're skipping?" Mia figured Tristen didn't exactly want to go home, so she headed back towards the apartment instead. Tristen sank back into the seat and sighed loudly.

"I kind of promised to do something later but now I really don't think I want to. The only way I knew to get out of it was to just leave before school ended." Mia could tell Tristen was either embarrassed or nervous about telling her older sister what she'd promised.

"Who did you promise to do something for or with, Tristen?" Mia carefully pulled into a parking spot and turned the car off. Tristen closed her eyes and bit her bottom lip. "Okay, you have until we get inside to relax, Tristen. I'm not going to judge you or whatever you're thinking in that pretty little head."

Tristen nodded with a weak smile and grabbed her bag before following Mia upstairs to the apartment. Mia closed and locked the door behind Tristen before tossing her purse on the counter and grabbing a couple waters out of the refrigerator. She put the waters and her cell phone on the coffee table as she joined the younger Oswald girl on the couch.

"His name is Tanner." Tristen said as she unscrewed the top to a bottle of water. Mia cocked an eyebrow at the word "his." She immediately knew that whatever Tristen had promised to do probably didn't have anything to do with a class project or a history paper. She didn't really know how to deal with being a mentor or confidante to Tristen, especially considering what she had been through a few years ago. It still killed Mia to know she wasn't told anything about her sister being raped until after she was already home from the hospital.

"Okay, so what did you promise Tanner?" Mia was taking things one step at a time, which seemed to work best for Tristen.

"We've been going out for a few months and I promised to have sex with him after school today." Tristen spoke so quickly that it was hard for Mia to understand her. Mia was used to fast talking New Yorkers, but her sister took it to a whole other level. She wasn't too sure about what to say.

"Uh, okay. Why did you promise to do that if you didn't really want to, Tristen?" Mia couldn't understand why sex was something that was being scheduled like a study session. It had been a few years since she was a teenager but, from what she remembered, it either happened or it didn't. The presence of parents or other adults usually played a big roll in that, but promises were never really made.

"Mia, I'm almost sixteen." Mia shook her head and pursed her lips. It didn't matter if she was twenty-six, she still shouldn't promise sex if she didn't want to.

"I don't care, Tristen. Did you promise him so that he wouldn't break up with you or something?" Mia asked with a frown and a craving for a cigarette. Tristen dropped her eyes to the hardwood floor and nodded slowly. Mia felt anger rising up within her and felt like bashing the little prick's head in.

"Tristen, that's not right. If you thought he was going to break up with you unless you gave it up to him, you should have at least talked to him about it before promising shit." Mia was on her feet and gesturing with her hands. She wasn't mad at Tristen by any means, she was just worried about her little sister.

"I did talk to him, Mia. That's why I promised to meet him after school. He said that if I didn't, he was going to break up with me." Tristen's face was covered with streaking mascara and flowing tears as she looked up at her older sister. Mia's jaw dropped and she stood motionless as she tried to understand how someone could do that. She wanted to ask if he knew about her rape but even if he didn't, what he did was just wrong.

Tristen picked up Mia's phone and handed it to her. It took Mia a minute to realize it was ringing. She pursed her lips and answered the phone.

"What?" Mia let her frustration carry over to the innocent party on the other end of the line. She was still trying to decide whether or not to go down to the school and kick the little asshole's ass from Charming to kingdom come.

"Mia, is Tristen with you?" Elliot stepped away from the principal's desk and hoped that the answer was yes. He didn't want to panic Karen, but he would have to call her next if Mia wasn't with Tristen.

"Yeah, she is. She had some female problems and was too embarrassed to call Karen or talk to the nurse. Sorry." Mia had used the same type of excuse when she was a student at Charming Middle/High, but she hoped that Elliot wouldn't remember. Normally, if a girl mentioned female problems, no one would really question her. Unfortunately, the effect lessened the older the girl got but Tristen was still young.

"Oh, okay. It's not a problem, Mia. I'm going to add you to the list so you can check her out if you ever need to." Elliot felt the blood start pumping through his veins again as he walked back over to the principal. All he wanted was for both of his girls to be safe and after the talk with Gemma earlier, he was already worried about Mia.

"Okay, great. I'll drop her by later, okay?" Mia winked over at Tristen to let her know they were both of the hook. Tristen covered her mouth with her hand to stifle a laugh. Mia and Elliot ended the call and Mia wiped the back of her hand over her forehead.

"That was a close one, doll. I'm glad you called me to talk about it though, Tristen. Even if I was just a get away driver." Mia laughed and sat down on the couch and opened her own bottle of water.

"What happened to your window, Mia?" Tristen was relaxing but her question made Mia tense a little. She didn't know how Tristen realized it had been replaced or how much she wanted to tell Tristen about what had happened.

"How do you know it was replaced?" Mia didn't expect her sister to be so observant. Tristen smirked and rolled her eyes.

"It still has a manufacturer sticker on the bottom, right corner." She shrugged and locked eyes with Mia. Mia twisted her mouth and nodded. She told Tristen the whole story to make sure that the communication channel between them stayed open and she knew it had to go both ways.

"So, one of the Sons of Anarchy members brought you home and picked you up earlier today?" Tristen turned her whole body towards Mia and eagerly waited for an answer. Mia laughed and found it funny that out of all that, Happy was the one thing she asked about.

"Yeah, he did. He also put that window in for free. It pissed me off so I just wrote a check and left it on the desk." Mia made a disgusted face at Tristen, making the younger girl laugh and shake her head.

"Why would you be pissed off about that? You said he looks Latino, right? He's probably had to deal with racist assholes before and didn't want you to worry about paying for their actions on top of everything else." Tristen shrugged and Mia's eyes widened. Since when did Tristen know so much about how people work? It made Mia feel a little guilty for being so rude to him earlier.

"Let's go, doll. It's getting close to dinner and I want to stop by and apologize to him later." Mia stood up and grabbed her purse off the counter. Tristen had her back pack on but the hand on her hip made Mia pause.

"I'm going with you, Mia. I don't want you chickening out and ruining your chances." She turned on her booted heel and headed out of the door, leaving Mia behind to shake her head.

"Chances for what? Tristen!" Mia hurried down the stairs while Tristen waited by the passenger door. She unlocked the car and climbed in the driver's seat. Tristen was making clucking noises at her and laughing. Mia rolled her eyes and ruffled her little sister's hair before backing out of the parking spot. She sighed and gave in to Tristen's bait, as she turned right to head over to the garage.

"Who's at the gate?" Jax asked as he looked at the security monitor from his seat at the table. Everyone turned around and followed the president's gaze. Happy recognized the Land Rover quickly, even though the picture was black and white. He shook his head and stood up from his seat at Jax's left hand.

"Won't take long." He said with a nod to excuse himself from Church that was about to start. Jax nodded and leaned back in his chair to wait for Happy to come back before starting anything. Tig turned away from the monitor and nodded.

"That's the girl from last night, Juice. Gemma about flipped out when she came to get the tangerine earlier today." Juice nodded as he started to remember the girl and what had gone down last night. He'd taken quite a few pills afterwards so everything was a little fuzzy.

"Who is she?" Jax asked more to fill the time they were waiting on Happy than out of curiosity. Tig shrugged and shook his head as he watched Happy's tattooed head come into the camera's view.

"Mia is all I got. She rushed over to see Oswald after ripping up the broad's check though." Jax's jaw dropped a little and he got up out of his chair to try and get a look at the driver of the suv.

"What are you doing here?" Happy hooked his thumbs in his belt loops at stood a couple steps back from Mia's driver's window. She ran her hands over the soft leather of her steering wheel as she tried to find a way to apologize without sounding lame.

"Thank you for fixing my window. I was surprised you didn't plan on charging me anything for it." She hitched her shoulder and Happy nodded his head. He could smell the same coconut scent he'd gotten wind of when he climbed on the back of his Harley earlier.

"I couldn't tell. Give me your phone." He put out his hand and Mia handed it over hesitantly. It was funny that he actually asked for something instead of just taking it away from her again. After a few seconds, he handed it back to her. It was calling a number and he dug a phone out of his pocket.

"Bye, Mia." Happy snapped the phone shut after saving her name in his phone and headed back through the gate. Mia watched as his back disappeared and the gate was rolled back into place and then locked. She looked over at Tristen who finally let out the laughter she was holding in once the window was rolled up.

"I don't even know what just happened." Mia said as she made a u-turn to head back to Tristen's house. Her younger sister laughed and patted Mia's thigh. It was innocent but the gentle pats sent waves of pain through her leg. She bit down hard on her bottom lip.

"Oh my god, Mia! I'm sorry! Are you okay?" Tristen frowned and searched her sister's face for any additional pain. Mia nodded and forced a smile. It was embarrassing and she felt bad for worrying Tristen.

"I'm fine. You have any insight on what just happened with the bad ass biker?" Mia wanted to change the subject away from her bruised thighs and Tristen seemed to understand that. She relaxed a little and smiled.

"I'm pretty sure you two just shared digits. I'm so your maid of honor." She winked as Mia laughed and shook her head adamantly. Tristen waved her denial away and gave her a wink.

"Be good, doll. Call me if you want to talk or that asshole Tanner bothers you anymore." She kissed Tristen on the cheek before she slipped out of the passenger seat. She nodded and grabbed her back pack, taking the stairs up to the front door two at a time. Mia made sure Tristen was safely inside before heading back down the driveway.

**Well, it has been decided! It turns out that this is going to stay a Happy/OC story :) I just love him :) **


	3. Chapter 3

"Hey, darlin'." Jax slid into bed next to his wife, Tara, and wrapped his arm around her waist. She closed the book she was reading and turned around to face him. Her eyes searched his as she tried to figure out what type of mayhem he was dealing with today. He gave her a little smile and rubbed his hand over her hip.

"Why do you look like you need to tell me something, Jax?" Tara had known Jax since she was a little girl and even after coming back from a five year absence, she could tell when something was on his mind. Unfortunately, when your husband was the president of a Motorcycle Club, something was never nothing.

"It's nothing bad, Tara. I found out Mia is back in town. Saw her stop by the garage earlier." Jax knew Tara would be excited about Mia being back in town. The two women had been as thick as thieves before they both ended up leaving Charming. Mia left first and it almost broke Tara's heart. Now, watching his wife smile excitedly, Jax hoped that Mia being back in town could help her cope with everything that was going on with the club.

"What? Jax! Tell me everything! Where is she?" Tara was sitting up in bed and looking down at Jax's pleased smile with anticipation. She had half the mind to get out of bed and go find Mia at that very moment, but it was after midnight and she had two sons that she'd rather not leave at home in case Jax had to leave out in the middle of the night.

Jax walked into the clubhouse the next morning with a genuine smile. It had been a while since he had been able to give Tara good news and it felt good. He promised to track down where Mia was staying and knew from what he had seen last night, Happy was the best place to start. Instead of risking his life by waking the killer up before 10 am, Jax sat down at the bar with a cup of coffee.

"Morning." Jax almost spit his coffee out of surprise. He turned around and looked at Happy as he walked in from the lot. It took a club call or job to get Happy out of bed before 10 and it wasn't even nine, yet there he stood.

"Uh, morning? You even been to sleep yet?" Jax knew that Happy was a private person, but he couldn't help wonder what was going on with his Sergeant at Arms. Happy poured some coffee into a mug and raised an eyebrow at Jax.

"Yeah." He didn't elaborate about where he had been because he was still questioning himself as to why he had done it. Happy had woken up to a sweet butt snoring in his bed at a quarter to seven. After kicking her out, he couldn't go back to sleep.

Ten minutes later, he found himself fully dressed and sitting on his bike across the street from Mia's apartment. He didn't go to the door or call her; Happy just checked the area and watched the window that he had seen her in a couple nights ago. As soon as he saw Mia walk by the window, he knew she was okay and headed back to the clubhouse, questioning himself on why he gave a damn.

"Do you know where Mia is staying?" Jax got straight to the point. Happy nodded silently and took a drink of the mediocre coffee that never seemed to improve. Jax raised his brow and waited for Happy to share the information.

"Apartment over the post office. Why?" Happy was reluctant to share the information to reasons beyond him. It was really starting to bug him that protecting the woman seemed to come second nature. He decided he needed to fuck her and get it out of his system before it became a problem.

"Mia and Tara were best friends growing up. I told Tara I'd find out for her." Jax said with a smile as he texted the information to Tara. Happy shrugged and chastised himself for suspecting anything. Juice sat down on the barstool next to Jax and slapped a folder down on the bar.

"You may want to that Mia has some charges in New York." Juice shoved the folder over towards Jax and hitched a shoulder. Both Happy and Jax scowled at Juice, wondering why he had taken the time to run her background without Jax's order. Juice looked between the two and shook his head.

"Look, Oswald's old lady came by and said that Elliot wanted to know what Mia had been up to. She said they wanted to make sure Tristen didn't get hurt." Juice started feeling uneasy when Jax's scowl deepened. Something told him that it was lucky he had heard Happy and Jax talking before taking that file to Karen Oswald.

"That's a load of shit. If Elliot wanted to have this done he would have asked me. He wouldn't send his old lady to you, Juice. Don't give her anything." Jax took the folder and headed back into his dorm, leaving Happy to glare at Juice. Juice shrugged and smiled up at Happy.

"Dude, she was a freaking stripper at one of the best clubs in New York." Juice told Happy excitedly. Happy tossed the rest of his coffee in the sink before smacking Juice in the back of the head and walking back down towards his own dorm to try and go back to sleep.

Mia stepped out of the shower and checked her bruises for any signs of healing. The hand prints on her thighs had finally faded enough to no longer have a distinct shape and was more yellow and green than blue and purple. She pressed her palm onto on of the bruises and found that it didn't hurt quite as much as it used to. It still smarted and would hurt with any additional pressure, but she could probably get pants on without verging on the brink of tears.

She couldn't see much improvement to the contusion on her back, but she would take what she could get. After getting dressed in a rush and pulling her hair back into a high pony-tail, Mia grabbed her keys and headed down to her car before she changed her mind. It was time she put at least some of her worries to bed.

Mia pulled into a parking spot and stared at the doors of St. Thomas Hospital. She had considered making an appointment to see a doctor, but knew if she did that, she would never go. So instead, Mia was going to use the walk-in-clinic and force herself to sit in the waiting room, no matter how long it took. With a reassuring nod to herself, she got out of the car and headed inside. Mia filled out the patient information form, handed over her insurance cards, and took a seat in one of the vinyl waiting room chairs.

What felt like hours to Mia was only thirty minutes in reality. She had tried to look at magazines, browse the web on her phone, and even considered calling Heidi or Tristen but none of the distractions were working. With a huff, Mia grabbed her purse and walked back up to the receptionist to cancel her request to be seen.

"Mia?" Tara was shocked to see the woman at the clinic's receiving desk less than a day after learning she was back in town. Mia whipped around and locked eyes with Tara. Her jaw dropped a little before her lips curved up in a smile. She walked away from the receptionist and hugged Tara tightly. Tara laughed and squeezed her back.

"You're back in Charming? Since when?" Mia was delighted to see Tara after so many years. She still had the same caring smile and light brown hair.

"I moved back a couple of years ago now. Is everything okay?" Tara motioned towards the receptionist and raised her brow. Mia swallowed hard and twisted her mouth.

"No, not really. Can we talk somewhere more private?" Mia asked, hoping that Tara showing up when she did was a good sign. Tara nodded as if the question was unnecessary and led Mia down the hall to her office. Once the door was closed behind them, Mia lost the strong hold had on her emotions. Everything from the past week came crashing down around her as Tara pulled her into a comforting hug.

Mia told Tara everything. Talking to Tara was as easy as it was when they were teenagers. She told her about stripping and dancing to pay her way through cosmetology school and keep a roof over her head. She told Tara about how Matthew would come home smelling like other women and smack her for asking about it. Mia told Tara about the charges she had for assault on a woman she had found in the bed she and Matthew shared and then another charge for domestic assault when she had tried to fight Matthew back after her attacked her for hitting his whore. Mia broke down into sobs as she told Tara about the last encounter she had with Matthew.

"After I told him I was going to move back to Heidi's, he shoved me back into the stair rail and I couldn't even breathe. That was the first time he had ever actually scared me. Every other time we would fight, I would at least be able to defend myself and fight back. That rail knocked the breath out of me, and then the whole room started spinning." Mia turned around slowly and lifted the back of her shirt. Tara was the first person that Mia showed that bruising to or told what had happened. Happy had gotten a glimpse of the bruise, but she never meant for him to.

"Mia, have you been putting any ice or heat on this?" Tara ran her hand over the bruise as gently as she could. Mia shook her head and put her shirt back down. Tara's chest was tight with the tears she was holding back for her oldest friend. She knew it wouldn't serve either one of them to cry though.

"I need a pregnancy test, Tara." Mia looked away from Tara, to embarrassed to see the pity in Tara's eyes. She knew it was irresponsible to drink when she wasn't sure if she was pregnant or not, but it was the only way she knew to cope with everything she had just shared with Tara.

"We can do that, Mia. I'll do it myself and we can wait for the results together, okay? Do you have any other bruises or anything I need to look at? The one on your back is pretty bad, but the swelling and the heat is just your body trying to heal." Tara smiled and walked over to her chair to get her lab coat. Mia twisted her fingers together and considered lying to Tara, but she just couldn't do it.

"I have bruises on my thighs and my lady bits are pretty sore. I don't really know if that's bruising though." Mia shrugged and tried to downplay what she was telling Tara. She decided that if she didn't say the word, it wouldn't made it real. Tara's sadness was replaced with anger at the bastard of a man she had never even met before.

"Mia, did he." Tara stopped talking when she saw the terrified look on the normally tough and headstrong girl in front of her. It reminded her of the whole situation with Gemma all over again.

"It is what it is, Tara. Don't say the word, okay? Saying it won't make it any better." Mia frowned and shrugged again, not knowing what else to do. Tara sighed and nodded. She knew saying rape wouldn't exactly change what had happened, but if Mia wasn't ready to say or hear it, Tara wasn't going to push her.

Tara took Mia down the hall to an examination room and drew some blood so they could get the fastest and most reliable pregnancy test results. She had a nurse take it to the lab with an order to process it stat. She put her own name on the order so that Mia could have some privacy. As they waited, Tara started to think about ways to help Mia.

"Do you have any plans for tonight?" Tara asked with a smile as she leaned against the door. Mia looked up from her lap and shook her head, relaxing a little at the change of topic.

"Not unless you count eating soup and watching tv in my pajamas. Tristen is apparently grounded." Mia said with an eye roll. Tristen had texted her and let her know that Karen had found out she had skipped school and freaked out. It was no wonder why Tristen didn't go to Karen instead of Mia.

"No, I don't count that at all. How about going to a party with me? I don't usually go to club parties but we can use it as a way to celebrate you being back in town." Tara urged Mia to agree with a bright smile. Mia laughed and was about to respond when there was a knock on the door. Tara jumped away quickly and cracked the door open, grabbing the paper the nurse held out for her.

"So, are we celebrating with alcohol or not?" Mia asked, trying to laugh her anxiety away. Tara read over the results quickly and smiled.

"Copious amounts of alcohol, babe." Tara laughed as Mia hopped off the exam table she was still sitting on and flung her arms around her friend. Tara knew that even though she had gotten the test result she wanted, there was still a lot of healing left to do.

Tara took the rest of the day off for what she explained to Margaret was a mental health day. It wasn't a complete lie though. She was happy and that wasn't something that she could say in complete honesty in a long time. She loved Jax and her boys, but the life they tried to lead took a toll.

"So, I'm guessing you and Jax got married." Mia said after swallowing a bite of sandwich. It was the first time she was able to relax enough to enjoy the flavors of food in the last week. Tara laughed and glanced down at the ring that Mia had gestured towards.

"Yep. We got married about a year ago. This is Thomas and Abel." Tara brought up one of the many pictures of their sons that she kept on her phone. Mia put her sandwich down and grabbed the phone, looking from the two adorable little boys to Tara.

"You're kidding! You don't look like you've even had one kid!" Mia glanced down at the phone again and noticed how similar the little boys looked to Jax. They had the blonde hair and blue eyes just like their father's.

"Well, Thomas was the only one I actually gave birth to. He's the little one there. I actually helped deliver and operate on Abel when his junkie mother overdosed and almost killed them both. Don't even ask." Tara laughed and rolled her eyes at Mia's raised brow.

"Well, congratulations, Tara! I always knew you would be an awesome mom. My mom always said you would to." Mia smiled and thought back to the talks that Maria would have with the two girls. She tried to make sure they were prepared to be young women before she lost her battle with Leukemia. Mia still missed her on almost a daily basis.

Jax looked up from his beer and smiled. He was pleasantly surprised to see his old lady walking through the clubhouse doors with Mia in tow. It had been quite a while since Tara had come to a party and he was happy to see both of them smiling. Tara gave him a hug and a quick kiss.

"Why do I get the feeling you two have already been up to no good?" Jax asked with a laugh as both Tara and Mia shared a look and shook their heads. Mia watched Tara and Jax interact and could tell they had come a long way since their on again off again shit back in high school.

"Nice to see you to, Jax! We've been perfectly behaved today, for your information. Shopping is in no way, 'no good'." Mia made air quotations with her fingers at the term no good. Jax laughed and kissed Tara on the cheek again.

"Welcome home, Mia. Try not to out party my guys, okay? They can get pretty sensitive." Jax laughed as Chibs flipped him off. He had been walking up from behind Mia and caught the tail end of what Jax was saying as he stared at Mia's ass. She and Tara had gone to the mall in Lodi for party outfits and Tara had convinced Mia to get a pair of leather skinny pants. She had agreed on the condition that Tara would wear a pair of heels and skinny jeans. Both of the women were set on looking better than any of the croweaters and sweet butts at the party.

"Who is that fine piece a ass with Tara?" Chibs asked after Mia and Tara headed over to the bar.

"Mia Oswald. I wouldn't even try, brother. She'd rip you up and spit you out for the fun of it." Jax said with a laugh as Chibs shrugged his shoulders. Chibs figured that for a woman like that, a little risk was worth it. He nudged Jax and pointed over at the bar where Tara and Mia were doing shots. Jax laughed and nodded his head; completely aware of the dynamic the two women had when they were together. Apparently, it hadn't changed much with age.

Happy was surprised to see the orange Land Rover in the parking lot as he backed his bike into line. He and Tig had just finished up with an interrogation and he was ready for a party. Seeing Mia's suv on the lot again made him even more ready.

His eyes landed on the brunette almost as soon as he walked into the clubhouse. She was sitting at the bar doing shots with Tara and smiling brightly. He stood still and watched her for a minute before Juice walked up and offered him a beer.

"You think she'd dance if I said please?" Juice was joking but he realized that it wasn't the best idea when Happy glared at him. He had never seen the man get aggressive or touchy over a woman before and he found it curious.

"You're an idiot." Happy growled as he looked back over at Mia. Juice shook his head and figured that Happy wasn't really in the mood to be questioned about why he cared about the woman.

"If she keeps throwing though shots back you may not have to ask." Tig said with a laugh as Mia down another shot of vodka. Happy shook his head and started to walk towards her, leaving Tig and Juice to fantasize about her dancing. Happy would love to see it himself, but he figured the big ass bruise on her back probably had some stiffness that went along with it.

"Happy! Fancy meeting you here." Mia said with a wink as Happy sat down on the barstool next to her. Tara gave him a small wave from the other side of Mia before throwing a shot back.

"Yeah, go figure. You trying to get the President's wife drunk?" He smirked as Tara flipped him off. Mia spun her seat around to look at Tara and then back to Happy.

"She's my best friend. It's a right of passage." Mia couldn't help notice the way he never really smiled. So far, the closest she had seen Happy get to smiling was that smirk he just gave her. At that moment, she made it her mission to get Happy to smile by the time she left.

"Aren't you going to ask what a girl like me is doing in a place like this?" Mia winked at him as Tara poured her another shot. Happy shook his head and pointed over at Tara.

"Best friend. You already answered that question." Happy was enjoying the way Mia was letting loose. He hadn't gotten a chance to really see that side of her yet. He found himself staring at her light blue eyes as she threw another shot back in coordination with Tara.

"It's not polite to stare, Happy." Mia smirked at him before turning back to listen to a story Tara was telling about walking in on Tig and a croweater fucking on top of the bar. After she finished the story, Tara headed off to find Jax and tell him the story for the second like drunken people tend to do.

"I never said I was polite." Happy said as Mia turned back with a smile. She pursed her lips at him and shook her head. Mia agreed, he never said he was polite but the man had not only put her window in for free but had also taken care of her the first night back in town. His actions spoke a lot louder and more frequently than his words.

"So you're just a big, bad biker that I should never want to meet in a dark alley, right?" Mia laughed and grabbed his beer out of his hand and finished it off. Happy smirked again and watched how her lips puckered and how her tongue licked the beer off of her bottom lip before sliding back into her mouth. He could feel himself getting turned on just by looking at her.

"Bright allies might be bad for your health to." Happy teased as Mia tossed her hair over her shoulder. Something about the danger he represented and radiated made Mia more attracted to him by the minute. She had never gone for the bad boy before since she herself was always seen as somewhat of a bad girl.

"I'll have to remember that. What if I took you into the alley? Still dangerous?" Mia winked and bit her bottom lip as his dark eyes scanned down from her face, to her chest, to her legs, and then back up again.

"You trying to flirt with me?" Happy growled as he grabbed the legs of the barstool Mia was sitting on and drug it over towards him. She hitched her shoulder and Happy shook his head.

"Mia! Play pool with me so I can beat Jax!" Tara said as she pulled on Mia's hand. She gave Happy an "oh well" look and let Tara drag her over to the pool table where Jax was racking the balls. Happy showed up and grabbed a pool cue.

"Can't let you get your ass kicked by a couple women, Pres." Happy said to Jax who laughed and nodded. Jax knew better than to believe that load of shit, but went along with it for his brother's sake. If anyone could have a chance at handling Mia, it would be the Killer.

Mia and Tara were thoroughly enjoying their game of pool with Happy and Jax despite being four balls behind as Jax lined up his shot on the second to last ball to end the game. Mia watched as the ball bounced off the side and came to rest on the brink of going in the far left corner pocket. Tara flipped him off with a smile as Mia walked around and surveyed the table. She smiled and looked up at Happy.

"If we win the round on this turn, you have to smile." She lined her first shot up and locked eyes with Happy. He rolled his eyes and shook his head, confident that she would scratch again.

"When you don't win on this turn, you're going to tell me the truth." Happy knew Mia understood what he was talking about. She shrugged and took her shot, sinking a striped ball into a side pocket. She moved around the table and Happy watched her leather clad legs and ass as she bent over the table to line up her second shot. She didn't exaggerate it like most women did but she didn't have to.

"Happy, did I ever tell you the story about how Clay got hustled out of five hundred dollars?" Jax asked with a laugh as Mia made a combo shot and Tara clapped. Happy rolled his eyes and shook his head. Mia made clearing the table look easy and hugged Tara after she did in fact win the game for them. Jax laughed and hung up his cue.

"You know the deal, Happy." Mia batted her eyelashes at him and waited for the smile she'd won. Happy shook his head and she pouted.

"Not in here, woman. I've got a reputation." Tara busted out into laughter at Happy's words. Mia rolled her eyes and grabbed him by the front of his kutte. She showed no fear as she marched outside to the patio, dragging Happy along behind her.

"No one around to ruin your rep with." Mia gestured around the empty parking lot and watched as Happy looked around. He nodded and smirked down at her. She shook her head and folded her arms across her chest. She knew he was being difficult on purpose and she honestly didn't expect anything less.

Happy looked down at Mia and took a step towards her. He didn't know the real story about how her back got fucked up, so he didn't want to scare her too bad. When she didn't flinch or move back from him, he put a hand on her hip. She looked up and met his eyes.

Mia felt the warmth of his hand through the thin black top she was wearing. The way he looked at her made her feel safe in a completely illogical way. She didn't really know anything about him, yet she trusted him. He leaned down towards her and she relaxed, uncrossing her arms and letting her hands rest over the patches on the front of his kutte.

Kissing Mia was better than Happy had even expected. Her lips were soft and full and she parted them just enough to allow Happy's mouth to mesh with hers. He felt a pull to kiss her longer and harder, but pulled back. It wasn't like him to not take what he wanted, but that damn bruise on her back was a red flag that he couldn't ignore. He watched Mia open her eyes to look up at him and he smiled.

**I really hope you all enjoyed this chapter as much as I did when I reread it :) we're getting a little closer to knowing more about Mia and getting a bit of a fire building between her and Hap :)**


	4. Chapter 4

"Hey, Elliot! I was just about to call you." Mia smiled as she walked up the stairs to find Elliot standing on the landing. He put on a smile, but Mia could tell something wasn't quite right. She unlocked the door and walked in, holding it open for Elliot to follow her.

"I came by earlier but your car wasn't here." Elliot said as he glanced around the living area of the apartment his daughter was living in. Mia nodded and walked over to the refrigerator.

"Yeah, I wasn't here. Do you want anything to drink?" Mia had a feeling that Elliot was looking for some type of explanation, but she didn't owe him one. He shook his head and she closed the refrigerator after grabbing herself a bottle of water.

"Mia, I'm really happy that you're back in town," Elliot started as he followed Mia over to the couch. She raised her brow at him and he paused.

"I'm an adult, Elliot. You don't have to preface bad news with a compliment or something positive. You're really happy I'm back in town but what?" Mia asked as she pulled her vibrating phone out of her pocket. Happy had texted her to make sure she made it inside safely. She found it sweet, especially since she lived less than a quarter mile from where she had dropped him off.

"Karen and I want to make sure everyone is on the same page about Tristen. She's at the age where she wants to be seen as an adult, but she's still a child. I want you to have a relationship with her, but you have to be her big sister not just a friend. If she's wanting to leave school early or anything else you think Karen and I wouldn't want her to do, then you shouldn't make it easier for her, Mia." Elliot's tone was calm and even, but what he was telling Mia would have pissed her off no matter how it was said.

"I was being a big sister, Elliot. Neither of you may want to admit it but I'm not here to corrupt your precious daughter. I made a judgment call based on the information I was given and I would make it again if I needed to." Mia stood up and walked over towards the door. Elliot sighed and followed her, realizing that he was already pushing her away.

"Sweetheart, I just want both you and Tristen to be safe and happy. Why don't you come over for dinner tonight?" Elliot asked with a comforting hand on Mia's shoulder. Her eyes moved from his hand to his eyes and she forced a smile.

"I'm sorry, Elliot. I actually have other plans tonight. Maybe some other time." Mia wasn't sure about the honesty of her offer, but it was the polite thing to say. At that moment, she had no intention of having a family dinner with the Oswalds. Elliot left the apartment feeling deflated. He knew that he would have to find some type of balance with his wife and his eldest daughter.

Mia changed into running tights, a black and pink sports bra, and running shoes with the hopes that a long run would help her calm down. She took her apartment key off the ring and tucked it in her arm band that was holding her phone before heading out of the apartment. She locked the door behind her while she put ear buds in and started her running playlist.

Happy shoved the blonde out of his dorm and zipped his jeans back up before checking his phone that had vibrated a few minutes ago. He frowned as he read the message about his mother's latest blood panel. Despite all the medicines and treatments he had been working so hard to provide her with, the tests showed she was getting worse. Happy ran his hand over his mouth and chin, wondering what he was supposed to do with the information.

"Call me if you need me." Happy said as he stuck his head in Jax's office. The SAMCRO president glanced up and realized Happy was stressed, which meant he was either going to the garage or going for a ride. Jax nodded and Happy was gone as quickly as he had showed up. He stared at the empty doorway and let his mind wander to the first time he, Tara and Mia had gotten arrested.

_Jax was seventeen, Tara and Mia were both sixteen, and all three of them were high off of some weed Jax had gotten from Gemma's stash. They were sitting on a hill overlooking the football field when Tara and Mia were supposed to be in class; Jax had just dropped out a couple weeks prior. Mia pulled Tara up to her feet and they started dancing around even though the music was only in their heads. Jax was watching and smiling as the two girls laughed and smiled._

_ "Once Jax and Opie get their kuttes, you and I are taking over as old lady queens, Mia." Tara laughed as she lost her balance and landed in Jax's arms. Mia had laughed and shook her head._

_ "Nope, Ope is all about Donna and I'm all about the single life, chica. Dad would shit if I ended up with a son." Mia giggled as she sat down and threw her legs over Tara's, adding more weight on top of Jax's lap._

_ "Whatever, Mia. You'll end up with a son. One way or another, all girls fall for the bad boys." Tara had turned around and popped a kiss to Jax before shoving Mia's legs off and climbing to her feet. From there, Tara and Mia decided it would be fun to spray paint their initials on the bleachers. Jax wasn't one to stand in the way of fun, so he went and stole some paint out of the maintenance shed._

_ Gemma was livid when Unser had told her about the three of them getting arrested. She bailed them out and threatened to have all their heads if they did stupid shit like that again. Tara cried as Gemma drove her home to her drunk of a father before taking Mia out to Oswald's. Mia had other ideas though. When Tara got out of the car, still crying, Mia got out with her and refused to leave until she was sure her father wouldn't do anything stupid. Tara was a few months older than Mia, but Mia always took care of Tara like a little sister._

Mia rounded the corner at a jog on her way back home. She had run about four miles and was ready for a long shower to ease her muscles that she hadn't worked out in almost a month. Her ear buds were blaring one of her favorite 10 Years songs and her hair was swinging in rhythm to her strides as she got closer to her apartment.

Happy was sitting on his Dyna across the street from Mia's apartment. He had originally planned on taking a long ride, but ended up there instead. He had already picked the lock to her apartment when he saw that her suv was parked outside but she wouldn't answer her phone or the door. After searching the apartment and finding no Mia, he went outside to wait on her instead.

His eyes widened as he watched her turn the corner in a quick jog. The tights and bra she was wearing didn't leave much to the imagination, but he still found himself imagining what she felt like. Ever since the kiss at TM, Happy had been thinking about kissing her again. He knew he'd have to fuck her soon so the damn girl would get out of his head. The club couldn't afford for him to be distracted by a piece of ass.

"Jesus Christ, Happy!" Mia jumped back and ripped the ear buds out of her ears once she saw whom the hand on her shoulder belonged to. She was unlocking the door and hadn't even heard him coming up behind her. He smirked and watched her boobs move up and down as she breathed heavy with surprise. She rolled her eyes and turned back to open the door.

"Didn't know it was that big." Happy said as he followed her inside without asking or waiting for her invitation. Her jaw dropped a little as her mind raced with what he could be talking about. It took Mia only a couple of moments to realize what she had done.

"I completely forgot about it." When she had changed for her run earlier, the bruise on her back hadn't hurt, so she forgot it was there. The combination of wearing only a sports bra and the low ride of her running leggings had the bruise on full display.

"What happened?" Happy was still curious and he wanted to focus on something other than his own problems. It was out of character for him to be so interested in a woman's problems, especially one he'd just met. She twisted her mouth and walked past him to get a fresh water out of the refrigerator.

"Do you want anything to drink?" She asked before closing the door. Instead of answering her, Happy walked up behind her and grabbed a water by reaching around her. The move pushed his chest and hips into her sweaty back and she felt a shiver run down her spine. She shook her head and closed the door to make room to get some distance from him.

"Old man back in New York?" Happy asked as he twisted the cap off of his bottle and leaned against the kitchen island. Mia narrowed her eyes at him as she took a drink of water. She had struggled to tell her best friend what had happened, and here was Happy, asking her about it like they'd known one another for a long time.

"Why do you care, Happy? It's a bruise. It's not like it's the first one you've ever seen." Mia growled as Happy raised his brow at her. Her brashness caught him off guard again and her defensiveness all but answered his question.

"Shouldn't have ever happened." Happy said, more to himself than Mia. She flicked her eyes up from his kutte to his dark brown eyes in an instant. He was looking at her face with a unreadable expression. She bit her bottom lip and walked towards him. Mia positioned herself between his legs and looked into his eyes, wondering if she could actually trust him. Maria had always told her that a man's eyes told you everything you ever needed to know about him.

"He was pissed that I wanted to go to my friend's birthday party at the club I used to work at. Since we'd started dating, I stopped moonlighting on the pole and did hair and makeup full times. It was just one of the many fights we had and I finally told him I was moving out. He shoved me against the handrail on my way up to pack my shit." Mia found it unnervingly easy to talk to Happy. She wasn't sure if it was his persistence, the fact that she barely knew him, or something more. Happy's eyes darkened before her own eyes.

"Should have killed him." He growled as he carefully took her hips in his hands. She inched closer towards him and ran her hands over the leather on his shoulders.

"I wish I could have." Happy stopped her trembling lip by pressing his mouth onto hers. He didn't care that she was sweaty and emotional; he couldn't just sit around and let her be upset. Happy wasn't the best with advice that people wouldn't consider aiding and abetting, so he just kissed her and let her melt against him.

Mia pulled back slowly and looked into Happy's eyes. They were warm and a lighter brown than they had been only moments ago. Mia felt comfortable and safe with him, which worried her. She could feel his arousal through both his jeans and her leggings, but he didn't push himself on her.

"Come for a ride with me." Happy growled as he rubbed his thumbs in circles on hips. Mia smirked and shook her head.

"I need a shower, Happy." Mia explained as he countered her head shake with a nod. Happy dropped his hands from her hips and grabbed his water. Mia stepped back and raised her brow as he walked over to the couch and sat down.

"What are you doing?" She leaned forward and rested her forearms on the back of the couch. Happy grabbed the television remote and Mia laughed.

"Waiting on you to take a shower so we can get on the road." Happy turned back to the television and smirked as Mia sighed and headed off to take a shower. She turned on the water to let it heat up as she peeled her running gear off. Happy being in the next room watching who knows what while she took a shower surprised her. If she went off looks and knowledge of bikers alone, Mia would have expected him to insist he join her instead.

"Elliot, did you talk to Mia? Does she understand how important this is?" Karen turned the water off and started arranging flowers in the vase as she waited for her husband's answer. Elliot shrugged his jacket off and hung it over the back of the barstool.

"Yes, Karen, I told you I would. She didn't take it too well. I understand you're upset about Tristen skipping school, but maybe she had a good reason. Having Mia around could really help Tristen come back out of her shell." Elliot wrapped his arms around her shoulders and ran his hands down to still hers. She shook her head and turned around to face him.

"Tristen is doing just fine, Elliot. She doesn't need a bad influence dragging her down." Karen turned back to the flowers, ignoring the kisses Elliot was planting on her neck. He sighed and dropped his arms, taking a step back from his wife.

"I invited her to dinner. She said no, but hopefully she'll change her mind. Go ahead and set a place for her at the table tonight." Karen spun around with a slack jaw but Elliot was already walking away. She slammed her pruning shears down onto the counter and wondered why her husband was trying to push them all together.

"You're still here." Mia said with a smile as she toweled her hair. Happy leaned his head back and looked at her. Her skin was glowing from the recent shower and stood out against the white t-shirt she was wearing. Happy liked how her jeans rode low on her hips and looked forward to feeling her legs and arms around him. For now, he was willing to settle for that happening with her on the back of his bike.

"You're still slow. Don't bother with your hair, you're wearing a helmet." Happy couldn't see the bird Mia gave him as she headed back into the bathroom to at least dry her hair and pull it back. She knew he was controlling and used to getting his way, just like Matthew was, but somehow it felt different. A part of her wondered if she wasn't just making bad decision after bad decision.

"Here, it's new." Happy pulled a helmet out of his saddlebag and held it out to her. She raised her brow and bit her bottom lip. Mia wondered why he would buy another helmet, considering his looked fairly new as well. She pulled it on over her head and tried to feed the strap through the clasp.

"Do you mind?" Mia pointed towards her chin where she had managed to twist the strap up and get it stuck somehow. Happy rolled his eyes with a smirk and got up from the bike to help her with the helmet. She laughed as he silently scolded her for being so dense. Her laughter caught him by surprise and his smirk edged closer to a smile.

"Hold on tight, woman." Happy took her hand to help her balance as she swung her leg over the seat. She wiggled and shifted for a minute before finally settling down and wrapping her arms around his abs. Her head rested on his back and she smelled the familiar leather and mint as he started the engine.

After close to half an hour of riding aimlessly through the Northern California back roads, Mia started to feel more comfortable on the back of Happy's bike. Her arms weren't holding on to his torso quite as tightly, and she had leaned back enough to look around and enjoy the scenery. She had grown up in the area, but never experienced it from the back of a motorcycle.

"I invited Mia Oswald." Jax told Gemma as she started getting plates down from the cabinet. She snapped her head to the side and looked at her son. Jax shrugged and took his beer back out to the patio with him. Gemma rolled her eyes and brought down an additional plate.

It wasn't that she disliked Mia, but she had a tendency to stir things up. Gemma actually appreciated her spunk and confidence, but those were the same traits that kept her in trouble. Elliot had told her that she seemed to be leveled out now, but Gemma doubted that he even knew everything that had happened before she left.

Tara helped Gemma and Lyla set the large table with plates and flatware as the Sons started trickling in. One after the other, they all filed in with loud hellos and hugs for each of the three women. Tara finished with the flatware and checked her phone for any calls or messages from Mia. She didn't have any new notifications.

"Everything okay, darlin?" Jax wrapped his arms around Tara's stomach and kissed her shoulder. She nodded and put her phone back in her pocket. Mia had told them that she had made other plans before she left the house that morning. Jax could feel the tension in her shoulders and frowned.

"I was really hoping Mia would come." Tara admitted as she turned around and slid her arms over Jax's shoulders. He took a deep breath and nodded, realizing he should have known that's what would be bothering her.

"My ass is killing me, Happy!" Mia followed him into Gemma's house while she rubbed the heel of her hand over one cheek and then the other. Happy turned around and closed the door behind Mia with a laugh.

"You'll live." He teased with a wink. Mia shook her head and caught sight of a smiling Tara standing in front of Jax. She hadn't planned on coming to the dinner tonight, but Happy wouldn't hear her complaints or objections and she couldn't exactly jump off of the bike on the way over.

"Mia! I'm glad you decided to be here!" Tara hugged her and led her into the kitchen to see Gemma. Happy nodded a silent hello to Jax and gave him a brotherly hug. The ride hadn't fixed his Ma's test results, but at least he had found a way to relax and get his mind off of it for a little while.

"Something happening with that?" Jax asked as he and Happy walked back to the patio. Happy glanced back at Mia who was sharing a hug with Gemma and hitched his shoulder. Jax smirked and grabbed both he and Happy a beer before joining the rest of his club in a debate over ape hangers versus straight bars.

"Mia, I'm glad you decided to come. After seeing you at the garage, I thought you were too good to speak." Gemma pursed her lips and smirked as Mia shook her head with a smile.

"Sorry, Gem. I was in a hurry to go get Tristen from school. Thank you for having me though." Mia hoped that Gemma wouldn't hold their first reencounter against her. Gemma smiled and waved her comment off.

"Don't worry, darlin'. How about a margarita?" Gemma offered with a wink. Mia laughed and nodded, happy to know there would be some social lubrication to help her get through the night. She made it to a second round before Gemma called everyone in to the table. Tara pulled her over to the table so that they could sit next to one another. Juice sat down beside her and smiled brightly with a nod.

"Hey! Mia, right?" Juice asked, knowing he was right, even if he hadn't run a background check on her. Mia nodded as she took a sip of her margarita. Her eyes scanned over Happy as he sat down across from her.

"Yeah, thanks again for the other night. You to, Tig." She looked around and smiled at Tig who nodded and grinned back. Mia appreciated how kind both of them had been that night. Gemma sat down at the opposite end of the table from Jax and looked around at everyone sitting and waiting for the go ahead.

"Dig in." Gemma said with a smile. All of the men moved for different bowls or plates of food as Gemma watched Tara and Mia laughing about something she couldn't hear. She turned her attention to Lyla who still seemed a little disconnected from the rest of the family. Opie had been gone for over a year now, and it was getting more rare to see Lyla at any family functions.

"So, I heard you were a stripper in New York." Kozik said as he chewed on a roll. Mia's eyes flew over to him and she put the fork of food she had been lifting to her mouth back down on the plate. She didn't know how he knew that, but it wasn't something she tried to hide.

"Uh, exotic dancer. We kept our underwear on. I'm sorry, where did you hear that exactly?" Mia couldn't help but wonder where he was getting his information. Nobody in Charming had known or seen her in New York. She heard Jax sigh and put his own fork down.

"Real nice, Koz. Karen Oswald had Juice run some background on you. She lied and said Elliot wanted it." Jax explained, glaring first at Kozik and then at Juice. Mia nodded slowly and went back to eating, unsure of how to feel about the intrusion. Juice hadn't set out to get the information for himself or the club, but he still knew a lot about her when she didn't even know his real name.

"Don't worry about that, sweetheart." Gemma took the stack of plates from Mia and set them down beside the sink. Mia's empty hands dropped to her side as she stood before Gemma. A memory of teenage Tara's harebrained idea to overthrow Gemma and take the role of queen flashed through her mind.

"I did porn and then worked as an escort, Mia. If there's one thing I've learned, it's that barely any of them would judge you for it. All you did was dance, doll. Don't stress about it." Lyla lit up a cigarette and offered Mia one. She accepted and took one out of the pack. It was the first cigarette she put to her lips since leaving New York.

"Who's old lady are you? I saw your crow." Mia explained with a smile as she passed the lighter back to the blonde. She was looking down at the ink on her arm as she bit her bottom lip.

"Opie's, but we lost him a little over a year ago. God, it still feels like yesterday that we got married." Lyla's eyes started shining with tears as Mia processed what had been said. She hadn't expected to hear that someone she knew so well had died so young. She swallowed hard as she hugged Lyla's neck. Like it or not, death would always be a part of SAMCRO in some fashion.


	5. Chapter 5

Happy noticed that Mia went quiet and seemed upset after dinner. She had stopped laughing and smiling like she had been doing since he picked her up at the apartment. He watched her out of the corner of his eye as she went around telling people goodbye without a word to him about leaving. Tara had moved towards the door and had a bag and keys in her hands.

"You planning on saying bye?" Happy growled at Mia as he stepped in front of her and blocked her path. She sighed and forced herself to give him a small smile. He had been noting but kind to her, but Mia couldn't bring herself to be around him. She was acutely aware of her attraction and growing feelings towards Happy, and learning about Opie's death made her realize how self destructive getting close to the Sons of Anarchy could be.

"Bye Happy. Thanks for the ride." Mia couldn't read his emotions, but she could see an obvious shift in his posture and eyes. Without another word, he stepped aside and let her leave the house with Tara. Mia knew how easy it was to push men away, and part of her was thankful that he didn't disappoint her by being any different. She closed the car door of Tara's suv and stared out at the row of bikes parked in front of Gemma Morrow's house.

"How did it happen, Tara? Opie." Mia didn't look at her best friend as the car backed out of the driveway. Tara slumped down in the seat a little as she shifted into drive. She knew it had been a bad idea not to tell Mia about Opie's passing, but she didn't want to darken the woman's homecoming.

"He was jumped at County. Blunt force trauma. Jax said that he died protecting the club." Tara felt the tears welling up at the thought of the last time she had seen Opie alive. Jax, Chibs, and Tig were being arrested for a murder they didn't commit and Opie came barreling onto the lot on his bike. He had head-butted Roosevelt, knowing he would be arrested as well. Tara always wondered if he had ever planned on getting out alive.

"Of course he did. Even when we were little Opie Winston protected Jax Teller no matter what. I still remember when he got expelled for attacking that idiot that tried to run Jax off the road before school." Mia smiled at the memory of the man who had been a close friend before she left Charming. She and Tara had even been the ones to try and calm Donna down when she heard the news. Now, the two were gone and it just didn't feel right. Mia frowned and unbuckled as Tara parked beside the Land Rover.

I can come in if you want." Tara offered with a weak grin. Mia shook her head and opened the door.

"Thanks, Tara. I'm just going to go in and get in bed." Mia gave Tara's hand a quick squeeze before climbing out of the car and heading up the stairs quickly. She held her tears back until her door was closed and locked behind her. Her sobs made it hard to breathe as she slid down into the floor and pulled her knees up to her chest. Mia realized that the longer she cried, her tears seemed to shift from those of sorrow of never getting to say goodbye to Opie, to what she believed were selfish tears over her own mistakes and situation she had found herself in with leaving New York because of Matthew.

Happy looked at the second helmet that was sitting on his seat and twisted his reaper ring around his finger. The way Mia had left both pissed him off and concerned him. He rolled his eyes and tucked the helmet in his saddle bag before putting his own helmet on and starting the bike. Jax had made it clear that Mia liked to be left alone when she was upset, but Happy decided he didn't care. It was infuriating Happy that he couldn't get her off his mind and he planned on putting all of that behind him by the end of the night.

Mia ignored the knocking on the door that she was resting her back against. Her crying had run out of tears, but she still couldn't bring herself to get up off the floor. She felt drained and weak from holding so much in for so long, not to mention the fresh pain she was experiencing. Mia's phone had not stopped vibrating for several minutes, so she pulled it out of her pocket to turn it off. She saw Happy's name on the screen and assumed he was also the one knocking on the other side of the door. Once the phone was off, the knocking stopped as well. Mia thought he had given up until she heard metal scraping in the lock.

Happy scowled as the door he was working on unlocking flew open. He had knocked and called with no answer, but there she was, red, puffy eyes and all. He wanted to snap at her for ignoring him, but knowing that she had been crying threw him off. She wasn't scowling or smiling or showing any recognizable emotions.

"What are you doing here, Happy?" Mia sighed and leaned against the door she was holding on to. Happy opened and closed his mouth without saying a word. He didn't know how to explain why he was yet again standing in her doorway, especially since his reason changed as soon as she opened the door.

"Why were you crying, Mia?" Happy stepped forward and looked down into her blue eyes that were looking up at him. She dropped her gaze and stepped aside, silently inviting him inside. He hesitated for a minute, but found himself being drawn into the woman's apartment.

"What do you want from me, Happy? I'm too sore to be a good lay and you already ate, so what do you want?" Mia didn't understand why she was so frustrated with Happy. Besides attempting to break into her house, he had done nothing to warrant the way she was treating him. Happy scowled at her and folded his arms over his chest. She noticed the Unholy Ones patch at the bottom of his kutte for the first time. In all of her years growing up in Charming, she could not remember ever seeing that patch before.

"I want to know why you were crying." Happy said through gritted teeth. Her hostility seemed to be coming out of nowhere and was a complete one-eighty from earlier in the day. That alone made him want to know what was going on in her head even more.

"No, you don't. You say you do, but we both know you don't care." Mia snapped, turning away from him and heading back towards the door. Happy's hands clenched into tight fists as she opened the door and looked back at him. He didn't make a move towards leaving and watched as her resolve started to fade away.

"Don't fucking think that you know me, Mia. You don't know what I do and don't care about. If I fucking ask you a question, it's because I want to know the answer. I don't talk to hear my own damn voice." Happy resisted the urge to grab her chin and force her to look at him. She closed the door slowly and hooked her thumbs in the belt loops of her jeans, inadvertently pulling the denim down and revealing the top of a tattoo Happy couldn't quite make out.

"I learned that Opie died and I never got to say goodbye." Mia was telling Happy half of the truth to keep from revealing how selfish her other reasons were. She glanced up at the sound of his boots walking on the hardwood floors. He grabbed the keys to her Land Rover and pointed at the door. Mia didn't have enough energy to question what he was doing or where they were going. She convinced herself that she deserved it if he turned out to be some serial killer that was taking her out in the middle of the night to kill her.

Happy didn't utter a word since they left the apartment. Mia had resigned to following him out to her car and stared out of the window as he drove. He wasn't stupid enough to think that Opie's death was the only thing that was bothering her, but he could only control what he had knowledge of. Mia turned to look at him as he slowed down and turned into the cemetery.

"None of us really got to say goodbye. With who we are and what we do, this is usually all you really get." Happy explained as he cut the engine and looked over into Mia's eyes. She bit her lip and Happy knew she was on the verge of crying again. His ma had once told him that sometimes women just needed a good cry before they could feel better, so he was banking on her expertise.

Mia followed Happy down a row of marble headstones until he stopped in front of a dark grey headstone. Her eyes were still adjusting to the small amount of light that the full moon was able to provide through the dark clouds that were rolling in. She ran her hand over Opie's name and sank down onto her knees. Feeling the cool marble against her skin made it all to real.

Happy took a few steps back to give Mia some privacy. He had a strange relationship with death and could never properly grieve for anyone, no matter how close he was to them. It wasn't that he didn't feel the pain or that he didn't care, Happy just didn't know how he was supposed to mourn a fallen brother or family member when he himself had been the cause of so many other families and club's sorrow and loss.

The clouds lost their ability to hold back the rain and caught both Happy and Mia in a torrential down pour. They were both drenched by the time she transferred a kiss from her hand to the headstone and rose to leave the grave. Happy wrapped his arm around her shoulders and led her back to the shelter of her suv. She had to admit that, despite the rain, she felt better now that her respects were paid.

"You shouldn't ride back in the rain." Mia said as Happy parked in her normal spot. He glanced out at the rain soaked bike and couldn't really argue with her. Even though the clubhouse was less than a mile away, the ride would be cold and wet if not slightly treacherous.

"I'll be fine." Happy said as he opened the driver's door and got out into the heavy rain. Mia followed suite, having no better option, and hurried up the stairs to get inside as soon as possible. Happy stood outside as she walked into the warmth of her apartment. Mia frowned and shook her head.

"Don't go, Happy." Mia was dripping water onto the bamboo flooring as she waited for Happy to decide whether to stay or go. Eventually, he walked inside and pulled her to him as he kicked the door closed with his heel. Mia looked up into his eyes and realized she was trembling from the cold. Happy kissed her lips and ran his fingers into her wet hair, holding her against his chest that was unnaturally warm for having been covered in a rain soaked t-shirt and leather kutte.

"Is there any chance you have something dry that would fit me?" Happy asked with a smirk as Mia rested her cheek on his kutte. She laughed and peeked up at him.

"I do, actually. Elliot apparently kept some clothes here. It's not much, but it's dry." Mia turned away and walked back towards the bedroom she wasn't using, pulling Happy along by the hand. She opened a drawer and tossed him a pair of black pajama pants and a grey t-shirt. He unfolded the shirt and raised his brow at the Armani label before shaking his head and tossing it back to her.

Mia's eyes widened as he started stripping out of his wet clothing right in front of her. Happy knew she was watching him and tried not to let her see him smile. He pinched his black boxers and found them to still be dry, so he decided to leave them on, happy to have some type of barrier between his goods and another man's pants.

"I'm going to go put this stuff in the dryer. You can hang your kutte up in the closet if you want to." Mia said as she collected his wet clothing before he got a chance to fold it. The two guns and large combat knife he had taken off didn't get past Mia and it made her think back to the Unholy Ones patch she had seen. Happy walked into the empty closet to hang up his kutte as Mia headed across the hall to the laundry room.

"Thanks." Happy said as Mia handed his belt and wallet over. She nodded with a smile before leaving to change into clean, dry clothes herself. Happy followed her and watched from the doorway as she peeled her soaked jeans off of her legs. He saw what was left of healing bruises on either thigh and felt his blood turn to ice in his veins. Mia's comment about being too sore to be a good lay suddenly made sense and he wanted to murder the fucker that had touched her. He had been known the shove women out of his room or handle them a little rougher than his ma would approve of, but he would never hit a woman, much less rape her.

"You're staring." Mia whispered as she stepped into a pair of sweatpants. She didn't have to guess what he had seen to cause his fists to clench and the vein in his temple to start pulsing. He didn't acknowledge her words or seem to realize that she had covered the bruises up and moved on to changing shirts. She pulled a band tee on and walked over to the angry biker slowly.

"If he shows up, I'll kill him." Happy growled as Mia ran her hands down his arms to his fists. She shook her head as he relaxed his hands and laced her fingers in between his. Mia read the tattoo that circled the base of his neck: I live, I die, I kill for my family.

"Would that take it all away, Happy? Would it make me remember it any differently?" Mia rested her head on his chest as his breathing slowed down. He knew the answer to both questions was no, but he also knew that if it came down to it, he would still kill the man for ever hurting Mia.


	6. Chapter 6

"It looks like it stopped raining." Mia said as she walked over to the couch. Happy looked away from the crime show he was watching and nitpicking and saw that the rain had in fact stopped. He looked over at Mia as she sat down beside him with a hot cup of tea. She stopped blowing on the steaming liquid and looked at him with a raised brow.

"Do you want me to leave?" Mia considered his question for a minute before shaking her head. Happy nodded and lifted his arm up. Mia took the silent invitation and slid over towards him. He was still shirtless, even though his clothes had finished driving an hour ago. Mia wasn't complaining and appreciated the warmth of his skin against her.

"You smell good." Mia whispered as she rested her head on his chest. Happy looked down at her and smiled. He appreciated how sweet she was, even if he wasn't used to spending time so much time with a woman that wasn't naked. Mia yawned and moved closer to him, pulling her feet beneath her.

"You taste good." Happy growled softly before pressing his mouth on to Mia's. She was caught off guard, but delightfully so. She pressed her hand onto his chest and tilted her head to the side so the kiss could deepen. Happy brought his hand up her back slowly until he could wrap it in her brown hair. Her tongue slipped into his mouth and she moaned at the warm, minty taste.

Mia moved to straddle Happy's lap and his hands slid down and rested on her hips. He held her firmly, but restrained from gripping her too tightly. She laced her fingers together behind his neck and pressed her chest against his. Happy didn't understand how she could taste sweet and spicy at the same time, but he liked it. He moved his hands beneath her shirt and circled his thumbs over her smooth skin. Happy pulled back and looked from her swollen lips to her lustful eyes.

"I want you, Mia." Happy brushed several strands of hair out of her face and kissed her lips gently. Mia bit her bottom lip as he pulled back again and dropped her eyes to his chest. She wanted him as well, but she knew it would hurt. Happy brought her chin up gently and she reluctantly met his chocolate eyes with her sky blue ones.

"It doesn't have to be tonight." Happy said with a half grin. Mia tilted her head to the side slightly, wondering what he was thinking. She could feel his arousal against her and knew he wanted her then and there. Mia ran a hand over his head and kissed him briefly.

"I'm sorry." Mia whispered against his lips. Happy pushed his mouth onto hers, stopping the apology short. She kissed him back and tried to pick up where they had left off before he originally pulled back. Happy groaned and pulled back, shaking his head.

"You don't need to apologize, Mia. It's not your fault. It'll just make it even better another day. I'm tired." Happy stood up and Mia frowned, assuming that he was going to get dressed and leave. After a few minutes, Mia wondered where he had gone and headed to check on him. Happy was in her bathroom, brushing his teeth with toothpaste on his finger. Mia laughed and leaned against the doorframe.

"Move all those damn pillows." Happy said after spitting into the sink and turning the water on to rinse his mouth. Mia cringed at the thought of the toothpaste residue but decided to focus on moving the pillows off the bed instead. She didn't expect him to be staying over when he said he was tired. Mia crossed her legs as she sat down on the bed and waited for Happy to come out of the bathroom.

"You're staying here?" Mia already knew the answer without a doubt, but she wanted an answer all the same. Happy smiled and climbed on to the bed next to her. He pushed her back down to the bed and hovered over her. She laughed and smiled as he peppered her neck with kisses. He almost liked hearing her laugh as much as he liked kissing her.

"Yeah, I guess I am. That okay with you?" Happy asked in a whisper against her ear. Mia turned her head and caught his lips with hers. He welcomed her hands on her hips and lowered down closer to her body as their tongues tangled together. Mia arched her back and moaned as her body urged her to move things forward. Happy moved his mouth down to the pulsing vein in her neck and nipped her skin gently. Mia leaned her head back and tried to slow her excited breathing.

"Please, Happy." Mia whispered as he licked and nipped at the sensitive skin on her neck. Happy growled softly as she ran her hand over his crotch. He moved out of her reach and pushed her t-shirt up, planting kisses on her stomach that tickled her skin with the short scruff on his chin. Mia tried to reach down for Happy, but he pushed her hand away, smiling against her skin.

Since Happy wouldn't let her touch him, she ran her hands over her own chest and down towards her waist. Happy pulled back and watched her as she explored her own body with her palms and fingertips. The sight of the beautiful woman beneath him responding to her own touch set something primal off inside of him. He watched her for intently as he rubbed and pulled on his shaft, never taking his eyes off of her hands. Mia sat up and pulled her shirt off, tossing it off of the bed before undoing her bra clasp and slowly dragging the straps down her arms.

"Let me touch you, Happy." Mia's voice was a blend of a whisper and a moan as she watched his hand moving underneath the fabric of the cotton pants. Happy pushed the pants and boxers down and kicked them off before moving to hover over her again. Mia wrapped her hand around his thick shaft and ran it over the smooth skin of his considerable length. He quivered under her touch and ran his thumb over her hardened nipple.

"I don't want to hurt you." Happy growled as he felt the warmth between her legs radiating against his leg. She nodded and maneuvered herself further down on the bed and ran her tongue over him. As Mia did so, she pushed her own pants and thong down and carefully toed them off of her legs, all while licking and sucking on his cock.

"Oh god, Happy." Mia panted and clawed at the sheets as his tongue lapped at her folds and clit. His hand was on her stomach, holding her down onto the bed. Happy moaned at the sweet taste of her wetness. The vibration of his moan against her body pushed her over the edge quickly. She moaned loudly and struggled to control her volume as pleasure rocked her to the very core. Happy had no plans of stopping until she pulled at his arm, urging him to resurface.

"I'm not done, angel." Happy growled and grabbed her hips, holding her against him as he flipped over onto his back. Mia laughed and smiled against his lips, knowing what he was planning in order to satisfy them both.

Mia took him into her mouth as he pulled her hips down towards his face. She moaned as he flicked his tongue over her clit. Happy gripped her full cheeks as he buried himself in between her legs. He was doing his best to hold off until he was able to make her come again. He felt the back of her throat against his tip and sucked hard on her nub. Happy felt Mia coming and let himself join her.

**SAMCRO SOA SAMCRO SOA SAMCRO SOA SAMCRO SOA SAMCRO SOA SAMCRO**

Tig looked up from the case of assault rifles as Happy walked into the warehouse. It wasn't like the SAA to be late for anything and it had Tig wondering what was going on. Jax rose from the crate he was sitting on and walked over, clapping Happy on the back.

"Everything okay, brother?" Jax asked as he offered Happy a cigarette. He turned it down and rolled the toothpick over to the other side of his mouth. Jax realized Happy was more relaxed than normal.

"Fine. I thought we were getting twelve cases. There's only ten here." Happy rasped, looking around at the wooden crates around the room. He was concerned why the order had changed and it was a great way to get the attention off of his tardiness. He hadn't planned on sleeping so late, but he actually slept eight hours with Mia in his arms.

"Aye, we paid for twelve. Fucking bastards said they'll make it up on tha next shipment." Chibs was obviously pissed, because it was hard for anyone to fully understand him. Happy shook his head and took one of the AK's out of the case and turned it over in his hands.

"Yeah, well Tyler already set up the drop and his crew is expecting seventy two rifles, not sixty. Hap, you me and Chibs are going to check out Conner's place. I'm willing to bet those cases are there. The rest of you head down to Diosa and make sure everything is good with Nero's crew. Lyla said they've been hanging around a lot." Jax finished serving out assignments before heading out to his bike. Happy and Chibs followed suite and headed across Stockton to check on the missing merchandise.

Mia woke up to the sound of knocking on the front door and rolled over to find herself alone. She vaguely remembered Happy telling her goodbye an hour or so earlier. The knocking continued as she climbed out of bed and threw a robe on. She called out for the visitor to hold on as she hurried across the living room.

"Tristen! Wait, today's Monday. Why aren't you in school? What's wrong?" Her younger sister flung her arms around Mia and started sobbing into her chest. Mia pulled her inside and closed the door, not bothering to lock it in the middle of the morning. Tristen wouldn't answer Mia's questions for a couple minutes as she drenched Mia's robe with tears.

"I think I'm pregnant." Tristen sobbed as she sat down on the couch and leaned into Mia's arms. Mia shook her head to clear her ears. She didn't understand how she could have just heard what Tristen said.

"Sweetheart, what are you talking about? What do you mean?" Mia smoothed the young girl's blonde hair down and bit her bottom lip. Tristen started sobbing again and covered her face with her hands.

"Tanner told me he loved me, Mia. He was so sweet and gave me this necklace." She held up the necklace by the golden letter "T" charm and blushed a little. Mia tried her best to give Tristen a reassuring smile, but she was sure it came off as a grimace.

"So, you and Tanner fucked and now you think you might be pregnant?" Mia filled in the rest of the story and raised her brow at the younger Oswald. Tristen nodded slowly and wiped another tear off with the back of her hand. Mia was angry, not at her sister but at the asshole boy that obviously manipulated Tristen. She started bouncing her leg up and down to try and release the energy that accompanied the anger.

"When can I take a test? He didn't have a condom but he uh, he didn't do it inside of me." Mia gritted her teeth and took a couple of deep breaths before answering Tristen. She didn't want to push her sister away but she couldn't help being angry.

"We'll have to wait at least two weeks for a blood test. It would be about three or four for a drug store one. I think." Mia tried her hand at the half smile again, but it still didn't work too well. Tristen let out a loud sigh of aggravation and leaned back.

"Can I stay here until then? Mom and Dad will kill me if they find out." Tristen pulled on Mia's hand, begging her unashamedly. Mia wanted nothing more than to help her out, even if her fears were pretty irrational.

"Tristen, I don't have a problem with it but the parents would veto that immediately. Look, unless you tell them, they aren't going to find out. Worst case scenario, you won't get sick or anything for a couple months." Mia frowned as Tristen's face fell. She was obviously scared and Mia felt helpless. She hated feeling helpless more than almost anything else.

"Can you just take me home? I walked here and don't feel like walking home." Tristen stood up and grabbed her backpack as she headed towards the door. Mia sighed and looked down at the robe she was wearing.

"Give me a minute, Tristen. I need to get dressed." Mia walked back into the bedroom and pulled on a pair of dark, low rise jeans. She was happy to see that her bruise was almost invisible as she pulled on a black, lace tank that clung to her curves.

Mia walked back into the living room and saw that Tristen had already left. She sighed and took her keys and wallet from the counter. Mia rolled her eyes and unlocked her suv so Tristen could get in. It was obvious that Mia's refusal to let Tristen stay at the apartment had pushed her away. Instead of driving towards the Oswald's house, Mia headed down to Elliot's office.

"Why are we at the office, Mia?" Tristen watched as Mia got out of the Land Rover and marched inside, leaving her younger sister gaping after her. Mia flung the door open, slapping the blinds loudly against the glass. Elliot's receptionist Penny looked up in surprise at the young woman's abrupt entrance.

"I need to see Elliot." Mia said as she tried to remember which way his office was. Penny stood up quickly and approached Mia.

"Do you have an appointment? Mr. Oswald is a very busy man." Penny spoke quickly and tried to block Mia's path. Elliot opened a door down the short hallway behind his receptionist and raised his brow at the scene in front of him.

"Mia, what's going on?" Elliot put his briefcase down on Penny's desk and looked at his eldest daughter who looked as if she could hit his employee. Mia shoved past Penny and pointed back towards the office. Elliot sighed and followed her.

"Tristen is going through some shit and she wants to stay with me for a little while. Elliot, I'm just trying to help my baby sister." Mia looked into her father's eyes and saw the sadness in them. He must have known that Tristen was having a hard time recently, even if he didn't know the root of the problem.

"Mia, I know you're only trying to help. I can't make this decision without Karen. Look, I'll talk to her when I go home. Tristen can stay with you today and I'll come by later." Elliot hugged Mia to him with hopes of not only repairing his relationship with her, but also hopes that she could help Tristen. Mia slowly returned his hug.

"Just give me a call before you come over." Mia said as she turned to leave. She paused at the door and looked back at Elliot. "Thanks for at least trying, Dad."

Happy leaned back on his bike as the second hour of watching a silent safe house ticked by. Jax and Chibs were smoking on either side of him, just sitting and waiting. It was part of the job but it did nothing to slow his thoughts down. Happy had succeeded in distracting himself with Mia recently, but his Ma had texted him an hour ago. She asked him when he was going to be able to come down and visit so that she could cook tamales. It irritated him that she was trying to downplay the worsening lab work.

"Hello?" Mia's voice calmed him as she answered his phone call. He didn't take his eyes off of the windows and doors of the house they were watching.

"Did I leave my wallet there?" Happy knew the answer was no as the leather wallet was currently digging into his ass cheek. He caught Jax looking over at him and shaking his head with a smirk.

"I think so. You should come by and look for it later." He could hear the smile in her voice and knew better than to think she had bought his lie. Happy laughed and leaned forward over his tank.

"Yeah, I guess I have to. Cook or something. I'll be there around eight." Happy snapped his fingers at Jax and pointed at the curtain that had just moved. He snapped the phone shut and slid it back into his kutte before dismounting his bike and leading the way down to the house.


	7. Chapter 7

"You can stay with me during the week baby girl. Dad said that's his offer and it only stands if you go to school for the whole day Monday through Friday." Mia sat down on the couch after finishing the call with Elliot and making sure the chicken was cooking properly. Tristen looked over at her older sister and smiled brightly.

"Thank you so much, Mia. I promise and I'll even do my homework and study." Tristen threw her arms around Mia and squeezed tightly. Mia laughed and patted her shoulder.

"Let's not get carried away." She joked, "Seriously though, we have a dinner guest so you may want to put on some pants. Don't smile at me like that." Tristen rolled her eyes and continued giving Mia a knowing smile.

"Does this guest wear leather, have tattoos and ride a motorcycle?" She asked as she stood up to go change from her older sister's shorts to a pair of jeans. Mia was a couple inches taller than Tristen, but their waists were almost the same size. Mia followed Tristen back to her room and rolled her eyes as her little sister searched her closet.

"He does ride a motorcycle on occasion. I guess you can just consider my closet open there, doll. Don't touch my Miss Me jeans, woman." Mia laughed as Tristen stuck her bottom lip out and hung the embellished jeans back up in the closet.

"We'll go shopping soon and you can get your own. Elliot is supposed to bring some of your stuff by in the morning." Mia said, leaning against the door as Tristen walked further back in the closet. She turned around and held up a pair of sequined shorts.

"You actually wear these out?" Tristen asked with a blush as she pulled them up her own legs. Mia laughed and shook her head. She had worn those shorts during her last dance on stage, but Mia wasn't ready to tell Tristen about that. She wasn't ashamed of it exactly, but she didn't want Tristen to look at her any differently.

"Even your tiny butt is hanging out of those, girly. I'm going to go answer the door. Please be wearing jeans when you come out." Mia walked out of the room as the sound of a motorcycle engine cut off. She opened the door just as Happy reached to turn the knob.

"It smells good in here." Happy growled before kissing Mia and pulling her to him. He had a shit day dealing with the Irish and it was nice to hold her body against his. Mia smiled as she pulled back and looked up at him.

"I see you found your wallet." She tugged on the chain that secured it to his belt and he shrugged. Mia knew he was using it as an excuse to come over without looking too interested in her. He smiled and Mia laughed, still finding joy in his rare smiles.

"I'm out of your room if you two need to use it." Tristen teased as she walked into the kitchen. Happy looked over at her and then back down at Mia with a raised brow.

"Why is there a little person walking around in your jeans?" Happy growled as Mia laughed. He had hopes of picking up where they had left off last night but that seemed less likely to happen now that Tristen was there.

"I'm not a little person, Grumpy." Tristen flipped him a bird as she opened the bottle of water and hoisted herself up to sit on the counter. Mia tried to hide her smirk, but Happy caught it and pinched her ass.

"I know who you are, brat. You also know that's not my name." He let Mia out of his arms and scowled at the younger, paler version of her sitting where food was supposed to go. Mia decided to stay out of the back and forth so she could avoid burning dinner. Happy opened the refrigerator and grabbed a beer before turning back to look at Mia.

"What are you cooking?" He opened the bottle with his belt buckle and watched as she pulled out a pan of food. She stuck the thermometer in the biggest piece of chicken and turned the oven off once it reached temperature.

"Chicken parmesan. Tristen, will you get the salad out please?" Mia asked as she reached up for a stack of plates. Happy watched her shirt rise up as she stretched. He laughed and put his beer down before walking up behind her and grabbing the plates her fingertips barely grazed. She took them once he lowered them down and ducked underneath his arm to go set them around the table.

"I'm going to bed. Try to keep it down; it's a school night." Tristen hugged Mia who almost choked on her wine before heading back to the room she was going to be staying in. Happy pulled Mia's chair closer to him as soon as he heard the door close.

"What's for dessert?" Happy growled as he ran his hands up Mia's arms. She smiled and kissed his neck. She had not intended on developing feelings for someone so soon after what had happened with Matthew, but she knew she was falling for Happy. It was a bad idea and she knew it but it was already too late.

"I have gelato if you want some." Mia smirked and looked into his warm eyes. He laughed and shook his head before standing up and leading her back towards her room. She bit her lip and watched as he toed his boots off and shrugged his kutte off. Mia was a little worried that all he wanted was to get his fix and move on.

"I'm staying here. You good with that?" Happy asked as he pulled Mia over to him. She nodded and ran her palms over his shaved head. Happy normally hated when women did that, but he let Mia do it since she normally smiled as she did so. He glanced up from her chest to her eyes and sighed.

"What is this, Happy? If you want a friends with benefits type of thing, then I need to know now." Mia watched his brow furrow a little as his hands gripped her hips. She thought she could possibly learn to deal with it if she knew up front.

"What do you want, Mia? I don't do relationships." Happy watched her eyes lose a little of their natural light and knew he wasn't the only one wrapped up in the other. She pursed her lips and nodded.

"I don't think I'm that good at relationships anyways." Mia admitted, thinking back to how Matthew had always told her how selfish and needy she was. Happy kissed her lips briefly and rested his forehead on hers. How he felt about Mia went against every rule he had always made for himself. He never let a bitch sleep with him, he never let one cook for him, and he sure as hell never felt anything for one.

"I know I'm not." Happy leaned back onto the bed and pulled Mia down with him. He tangled his fingers in her hair and kissed her roughly. Mia moaned and grinded her hips against him as his tongue twisted and turned with hers. Happy didn't mind that she wanted to share control. It was a relief after being on guard and high alert all day. With Mia, he was able to relax and trusted her to know how to make him happy.

"I'm possessive and controlling." Happy growled as he flipped them over so he was back on top. Mia nodded her head. She could have guessed that the first night she met the man. He leaned down and sucked her bottom lip into his mouth, biting it gently between his teeth. Mia moaned and reached down for his belt.

"I'm hardheaded and reactive." Mia panted as Happy slid his hand down beneath her jeans. He nodded and nipped at her neck. It was no secret that she was either after seeing her at the Hairy Dog. He circled a ringed finger over her opening as she wrapped her hand around his shaft. Happy watched her eyes intently as he pushed into her. Her eyes brightened and she bit her bottom lip as she brought her hips up, inviting him in.

"Happy, please." Mia panted as quietly as she could as he pulled all the way out of her slowly. He smirked and put his hand over her mouth. She pulled one of his fingers in to her mouth with her tongue and she could taste her sweetness lingering on his skin. He watched her suck on his finger and slammed into her, forgetting the caution he was taking with her. She moaned loudly and he did his best to muffle her with his hand.

"You're going to wake your sister up." Happy whispered as she rocked her hips up to let him in even deeper inside of her. Her eyes closed and she panted as her orgasm exploded around him. He moaned as her walls tightened and she got even wetter. He cursed the latex between them, but knew better than to fuck her bare without knowing if she was on the pill. Happy slowed down and thrust deeper as he reached his peak. He felt Mia pulsing around him and moaned at the pleasure ripping through him.

Mia kissed his neck as he rested it on her shoulder. He had just gotten back on the bed from cleaning himself up in the bathroom and was holding Mia's naked body close to him. She smiled at the warmth of his skin against her coolness.

"You're mine, Mia. No other guys or girls, whatever you're into. You're with me now." Happy rasped as he kissed her shoulder and nuzzled his five o'clock shadow against her neck. She giggled at the sensation and tried to pull away.

"Same goes for you then, Happy. If I'm with you then I'm it. You need to get off you either come to me or you get reacquainted with your hand." Mia narrowed her eyes as he pulled up and looked at her. He nodded and kissed her mouth.

"Okay, Mia." He kissed Mia again before laying his back down on the bed and pulling her over onto his chest. She kissed his snake tattoo on his chest and curled her leg over his as he pulled the sheets up over them both. Happy fell asleep with one hand on the gun underneath the pillow and the other hand draped around Mia's waist.

Mia woke up to Happy's phone buzzing on the bedside table. She looked over at the clock and groaned. It wasn't even seven o'clock yet and they had stayed up well past twelve. Happy groaned and rolled over, feeling for his phone while keeping his face down in the pillow.

"What?" He growled sleepily. He was extremely tired and just wanted to go back to sleep. Mia climbed out of bed and he turned to watch her walk into the bathroom.

"Mr. Lowman, this is Dr. Jones. I feel that you might want to come down to Bakersfield today. Your mother isn't doing too well." Happy sat up and shook his head into his hand. Mia walked back into the room and raised her brow at Happy's troubled expression. He snapped the phone shut without saying a word to whoever was on the other end of the call.

"Come to Bakersfield with me." Happy said as he got out of bed and started getting dressed. Mia twisted her mouth as she watched him step into his jeans.

"Do you want to tell me why?" Mia asked as she opened her underwear drawer. Happy pulled his shirt over his head as he walked into Mia's closet and jerked the first pair of jeans he saw off the hanger. She caught the jeans as he tossed them over to her before sitting down to pull his boots on.

"My ma's doctor was on the phone." Happy said as Mia pulled a black t-shirt over her head. She frowned and looked up at him.

"Okay. Let me just tell Tristen we're leaving. I'll let her drive my car to school." Mia wasn't comfortable with lending her car out, but there was no other way to make sure she got to school. Happy nodded and headed down to his bike as Mia went over to Tristen's room.

"Hey, drive the Evoque to school today. I've got to go out of town with Happy. Keys are on the counter and call me when you get there." She kissed Tristen's forehead as her little sister nodded and rolled over to turn her back on Mia.

"Happy?" He nodded and pulled the chair over towards the side of his Ma's hospital bed. She had been battling cancer for the past six years and he could see the physical toll it was taking on her. Mia stayed back near the door as Happy held his mother's hand. She remembered what it was like to watch her own mother slip away and would never wish it on her worst enemy.

"Who did you bring with you?" His ma struggled to speak and Happy looked over at Mia. She stepped further into the sterile room and gave the woman a small smile. Happy held her hand and looked back at his Ma with a smile.

"This is Mia." Happy knew it meant a lot to his Ma to meet Mia. She had asked him to settle down for years now, but he never had. Mia hugged his Ma and kissed her cheek.

"It's nice to meet you, Mrs. Lowman. Happy has told me a lot about you." Mia and Happy knew it was a lie, but it served to make the woman smile. She nodded and patted Mia's hand that Happy was holding. Her phone started vibrating and Mia excused herself with a smile. Happy nodded and turned back to his Ma.

"I know you're tired, Ma." Happy had no doubts about his Ma getting better anymore. She was struggling to breathe and he saw her fading away. She smiled up at him and nodded ever so slightly.

"I love you, son. Treat her right." Happy promised and kissed her cool hand. He gave her a smile and sat in silence as the alarms started going off. The doctors rushed in and Happy walked out, refusing to look back so that he could remember his mother with a smile on her face.

"Happy." Mia whispered as he took her hand and walked away from the hospital. She pulled him around to face her when they got out to the parking lot. His eyes were soft and it was the first time that she had ever seen him frown. Mia hugged him tightly and pulled his head down closer to hers. It took him a couple minutes, but he finally wrapped his arms around her and closed his eyes.

"Thanks for being here." He whispered as he pulled back and kissed her forehead. He handed her helmet over and threw his leg over the bike. She climbed on behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist, more for a hug than to hold on.


	8. Chapter 8

Mia was surprised when Happy followed her back up to the apartment instead of going over to the clubhouse. She knew first hand how hard it was to lose a parent and she had thought he might want to be alone. Instead, Happy sat down on Mia's couch and stared at the television without turning it on. Mia frowned felt her chest tightening and her heart breaking for the man she was quickly falling for.

"Are you hungry?" Mia asked quietly from the kitchen. Happy shook his head and leaned back on the couch, moving his eyes from the television to the ceiling. Mia heard what he said, but she went ahead and tossed a frozen pizza in the oven before taking a beer over to him.

"Thanks, Mia." Happy took the beer and pulled Mia to him with his free hand. He felt numb and hollow as he held her to his side. He appreciated Mia understanding he didn't want to talk. Just having her warm body pressed against his side made him feel better than talking or drinking could.

Mia and Happy were both on their way to a nap when a noise caught his attention. He opened his eyes and reached for his Glock as the door to the apartment flew open. The woman standing in the doorway looked familiar but he couldn't place where he had seen her before. Mia stirred and looked from the gun in Happy's hand to an astonished Karen.

"Where is my daughter, Mia? Tell me you haven't had her around this convict." Karen spat as Happy put his gun away. He was in no mood to deal with a bitchy woman, so he decided to just ignore her and let his girl deal with it instead. Mia stood up and crossed the room to check on the pizza in the oven. She felt Karen's eyes following her as she walked into the kitchen.

"Tristen is at school for a project. She has my car. Do you need something?" Mia pulled the sizzling pizza out of the oven and looked back at Karen. She was still looking from Happy to Mia with a snotty expression. Happy had turned the television on to the Speed Network and pretended Karen wasn't there.

"I do not approve of Tristen staying here, especially with the company you keep. She's a fifteen-year old girl, Mia. She has no business spending time with gang members." Karen said with a scowl. Happy looked back over the couch and narrowed her eyes.

"It's a club." Happy called before turning back around to the television. Karen scoffed and planted her hands on her hips. Mia slammed the pizza cutter on the counter and walked over to Karen, stopping mere inches away from her.

"If you have a problem with parenting, you need to talk to your husband. You aren't going to come here, uninvited, and be a fucking bitch. Get out." Mia pointed behind Karen to clear up any confusion. Happy moved from the couch to stand closer to Mia, just in case she needed to be pulled off. Karen looked from Mia to Happy and stormed back towards the bedrooms. Mia took off to follow her but Happy caught her around the waist.

"Not in the mood to break up a fight, babe." Happy let Mia go and watched as some of her anger seemed to drain away. She walked back towards the bedrooms at a more level headed pace as Happy moved to get some pizza and another beer.

"Why don't you see that Tristen is going through some shit, Karen? I get that you forced her to go to counseling because you thought it would fix everything, but it didn't. It's not your fault. She needs to have some type of independence so she can feel less like a victim." Mia was speaking from experience as she had come back to California for just that. The distance was making her feel more herself again.

"Mia, you think you know what's best, but you don't. You will never understand until you have children of your own. The top priority is Tristen's safety. She isn't you, Mia. She's a good girl and I don't want her corrupted." Karen's words cut Mia deep as she watched her step-mother packing Tristen's bags. She felt her fists clench but the grieving biker in the next room kept her level headed.

"Mom? What are you doing?" Tristen stopped at Mia's elbow and looked in at Karen. She was zipping the last bag and turned to look at her daughter with a smile.

"Tristen, you're coming home. I'm sorry I never should have agreed with your father on this arrangement. Mia can come visit you at home." Karen picked up a bag and offered it to Tristen. The teenager shook her head and crossed her arms over her chest.

"I'm staying here, Mom. You can't just pull me around like one of the dogs." Mia could here teenage defiance in Tristen's voice and it reminded her of the last fight she had with Karen before moving to New York. Karen threw the bag on the floor and grabbed Tristen's arm.

"My daughter is not living around the Sons of Anarchy. You are fifteen, Tristen. Get your bags and let's go." Karen's voice rose above her normal tone and Mia tensed. Tristen jerked her arm back and shook her head.

"That's your problem? First you say it's because Mia is irresponsible and then you have a problem with the Sons? I haven't had a nightmare in two nights, Mom. That monster can never hurt me or anyone else again. Sorry Mia, I overheard you and Happy talking about it." Tristen said with a shrug as frustrated tears rolled down her cheeks. Mia didn't realize she had even been awake when Happy had told Mia about what happened after Tristen was attacked.

Karen's mouth fell open and she stared into Tristen's eyes. She didn't understand how a young girl could sleep better with a man like Happy across the hall. Elliot and Karen had never planned on telling her about what had happened with the rapist. She had to admit that if it wasn't for the Sons of Anarchy, the bastard would probably be out on parole by now; that is, if the police ever charged him in the first place.

"Tristen, the answer is no. Get a bag and go downstairs." Karen watched as her daughter's tears started falling more rapidly. She snatched a bag out of her mother's hand and stormed out of the room. Mia shook her head and followed her little sister out to the living room. Happy looked up at the women coming down the hall with bags and sighed.

"I got it." Happy said as he took the bag from Tristen. Mia gave him a small smile as the two walked out of the apartment. Happy let Tristen walk ahead of him down the stairs and over towards the white Mercedes sedan.

"I don't get why she's such a bitch. I hate her." Tristen sobbed as she took the bag from Happy and threw it in the back seat. Happy frowned and shook his head. He didn't know the first thing about parenting but he recently learned what losing a mother felt like.

"No you don't, kid. She's your Ma. You're lucky she cares so much. It can be a pain in the ass but you'd really miss it if she was gone." Happy pulled Tristen into a hug as she started crying again. He ruffled her hair and tried to give her a half smile.

"Will you still take me on that ride soon?" Tristen asked with a weak grin. Happy smirked and nodded, refusing to back out of his promise to her. Tristen nodded and took a deep breath before stepping out of his hug. Mia glanced over at Karen and pursed her lips as they both watched Tristen and Happy parting ways.

"Yeah, it's so dangerous for her to be around here. She might just get hugged to death." Mia spat as Karen stomped over towards the car. Happy's expression neutralized as he walked back to Mia.

"I need you, Mia." The rasp in his voice sent the message loud in clear as Mia nodded her head. She took his hand and let him lead her back upstairs as Karen's car disappeared around the corner. Happy locked the door and deadbolt before pulling Mia over to him by the hips.

He was feeling possessive as his mouth crashed into hers. In the back of his mind, he knew Mia may have a hard time with being controlled after what happened with her ex. Right now, all he wanted was to take his mind off the stress and take what was his. He yanked her closer to him and growled at the feel of her breasts pushing up against him.

Mia realized that Happy wasn't always gentle but the fierceness behind his eyes and in the way he kissed her made her a little nervous. He drug her behind him towards her room and slammed the door behind her as soon as she was clear of it. She watched him throw his kutte over on the dresser and kick his boots off without ever taking his eyes off of her. Mia's hands were shaking as she grabbed the bottom hem of her shirt to pull it over her head.

Happy watched Mia undress and swallowed hard. The bruises on her thighs were still slightly visible and his primal need to dominate her was out of his system. He walked over to her and gently ran his hand from her chest to her cheek. She wrapped her arms around the back of his neck and gave him a little nod. He shook his head and kissed her forehead.

"I'm not going to hurt you, Mia." He whispered as he picked her up and carried her over to the bed. She caught his mouth with hers and moaned as he put her down on the mattress. Mia hated what Matthew had done to her. Just months ago, she was considering taking a BDSM seminar, and now she trembled at the thought of a man roughly handling her.

"I'm sorry." Mia turned her face away from him and closed her eyes. She heard him groan as he stopped kissing her neck. He waited until she looked back at him to say anything.

"For what?" Happy was propping himself up on his forearms and a knee that was between her legs. She scoffed and shook her head.

"I know what you were wanting, Happy. Six months ago, you wouldn't have been able to stop me. I never liked it easy." Happy smirked and kissed her neck again.

"Trust me, Mia. If you tell me to stop, I will." Happy growled against her skin before scraping his teeth over her pulsing artery. She nodded and took a couple deep breaths to calm her nerves. It didn't make any sense to trust someone she'd known for barely two weeks when a man she'd been with for almost a year had hurt her so badly. It didn't make sense, but she did.

Happy gripped her hip tightly and rolled her nipple between his teeth. He bit down slightly and tugged at the hardened peak. Mia moaned and tried to scoot towards him to relieve the pressure, but his hand on her hip kept her in place. She bit her bottom lip as he moved off the bed and dropped his jeans and boxers. He took her hand and pulled her off the bed with a hungry look in his eyes.

Happy pushed his girl against the wall and sank his teeth into her shoulder. He heard her whimper and inhale sharply, but he knew it wasn't hard enough to break her skin. He let up and ran his tongue over his teeth marks and jerked her hips back towards him as his other hand kept her torso close to the wall.

"You don't have to use a condom." Mia panted as she felt her body respond to his aggression. She was still nervous, but her body thrived and longed for the forcefulness. Happy smirked and lowered down just enough to slight the tip of his cock between her folds.

"Fuck, girl. You like this don't you?" Happy growled as her wetness coated his aching length. He was torn between fucking her right away and tasting her sweetness on his lips. Mia moaned and backed her hips up farther towards him. He spun her around and pointed down at the floor. Mia dropped to her knees and licked his length on her way down. Happy moaned and let her take him in her mouth for a few good sucks before shoving her off.

"Get on you back." He growled as he lowered himself down on the floor. Mia swallowed hard and moved forward so her head was a safer distance from the wall. Happy pushed her knees down and out, exposing her sex to him completely. He licked his lips at the sight of her.

"Oh God, Happy. No, no, no. Please baby, it's too much." Mia panted and moaned as Happy sucked and licked at her clit and folds. He ignored her protests and twisted his fingers that were deep inside of her and pressed against the spot she loved. Her sweetness coated his mouth and tongue as he buried himself between her legs.

Mia felt like her insides were exploding as an orgasm hit her hard and fast. She yelled his name and a string of Spanish that her aunt would have washed her mouth out for. Happy pulled at her clit with his teeth and her words turned into moans and cries.

"Get up and get back on the wall." Happy growled as he stood up. Mia did as she was told and braced her forearms against the wall as she backed up towards him. Happy yanked her hips to him and entered her quickly. She yelped at the sudden fullness and force behind his thrust. The sound of skin hitting skin filled the room as he slammed into her in at a furious pace.

Mia moaned as Happy wrapped a hand around her throat and pulled her head up. Her heart raced at the pressure of his hand but she didn't want him to stop. She needed this as much as he wanted it. She pulled at his arm, but it didn't budge. Happy moved his hand up closer to the base of her jaw and pulled her away from the wall.

He knew she was nervous, but the longer his hand was around her throat, the wetter she got. He felt electricity pulsing through his body as her walls tightened around him. He couldn't hold off any longer and spilled into her.

"Fuck, Mia." He slid his hand down to her shoulder and pulled her back against his chest. She was breathing hard and both of their bodies were covered with sweat.

"Yep. My thoughts exactly." Mia said with a smile as she leaned her head back to his shoulder. Happy smiled and kissed her cheek. Fucking Mia felt wonderful and he felt good about earning her trust.

**Sorry about the delay everyone! I've switched from dayshift to nightshift and it's really taken its toll on me recently. I promise to try and post more frequently on this fic and my others.**


	9. Chapter 9

Mia picked Tristen up from school at lunch time and felt butterflies in her stomach for the young girl. It had been two weeks since Tristen had first come to Mia with unplanned pregnancy fears and Mia had worked with Tara to get a test done as soon as possible. Tristen was bouncing her leg on the floorboard and it made Mia smile to see how similar they really were.

"You're gonna be okay, no matter what. Don't freak out until we get the results, doll." Mia said as she parked the suv and turned the engine off. Tristen's pupils were the size of saucers and Mia knew exactly how she felt. The sooner they got the results though, the sooner they could move on.

"Hey, I'm just about ready! Go ahead and take your jacket off." Tara said as she hugged Mia and smiled over at Tristen. The young girl took a deep breath and nodded before peeling her jacket off and sitting down on the couch opposite Tara's desk. Mia rubbed at the back of her neck and tried to resist the urge to scratch at her new tattoo.

"I can't wait until I'm eighteen so I can get a tattoo." Tristen said with a nervous smile. Mia turned to see that her younger sister had been staring at the lace tattoo she was dying to scratch at. She laughed and shook her head.

"Your Mom would literally skin you, Tristen. Start with a piercing or something first." Mia leaned against Tara's desk as the brunette doctor pulled supplies out of a red medical bag. Tristen's face fell as she eyed the needle and tubes.

"Once I get this to the lab, we have about an hour until the results come in. We can go down to the diner and eat. I'll have the lab forward everything to my phone." Tara said as she finished drawing blood from Tristen. She paused as she went to write a name on the tube. Mia shook her head with a smile.

"Just put my name on it." Mia said as she finished her message to Happy. He and the rest of the club were down at the docks dealing with something but Happy was adamant he'd be back in time for their date. She and Happy had been staying at the apartment or the clubhouse ever since their trip down to Bakersfield, so it surprised Mia when Happy asked her to go on an actual date with him.

"Tanner says he's going to prospect when he turns eighteen." Tristen said between sips on her milkshake. Mia raised her brow as Tara giggled and shook her head.

"That's not how it works. He's got to be sponsored by one of the Sons." Tara said after getting her laughter under control. She didn't know much about Tristen's boyfriend but he didn't seem the type to fit in with the club.

"You think Happy would sponsor him?" Tristen asked with bright eyes. Both Mia and Tara shook their heads with a laugh.

"You'd have better luck getting him to tattoo a flower on his cheek. Sorry, Charlie. You're boyfriend will have to work for it if that's really what he wants to do. Has he even been around motorcycles?" Mia took Tristen's scowl as an answer and shook her head with a smirk.

Tara's phone vibrated on top of the wooden tabletop and all three women turned to look at it without going any nearer. Mia started bouncing her leg and chewed on the straw to her strawberry smoothie. Tara reached out for the phone, as Tristen shook her head violently.

"I don't want to know. I just want to be one of those women on the show where they don't know they're pregnant until the baby comes. I don't want to know." Tristen was on the verge of hysteria as Tara unlocked the phone screen and read her email. Mia was holding her breath and started to feel dizzy from anxiety and lack of oxygen.

"You're not pregnant, Tristen." Tara said as she put the phone back in her lab coat pocket. Mia inhaled deeply and let her breath out in relief. Tristen was smiling ear to ear and leaned back in the chair, seemingly exhausted. Tara gave the young girl a little smile and a nod.

"Tristen, I'm not kidding when I say you need to get on the pill or something. Even then you've got to use a condom every time. I'm not ready to be an aunt yet." Mia searched Tristen's eyes to gauge her level of understanding. Tristen's blue eyes were clear and bright as she nodded in agreement.

"Whatever you choose is up to you, Tristen. There are pluses and negatives to all of them, but you're still better off using birth control unless you want a child." Tristen nodded and stood up to give Tara a hug.

"Thank you for doing this off the record, Tara. My parents would kill me if they knew I was even thinking about having sex." Tristen waved as a newer Ford Mustang pulled up to the curb by the restaurant patio. Mia nodded as Tristen looked over and silently asked for her older sister to cover for her if Elliot or Karen asked where their daughter was.

"Don't look so motherly, Mia. You were her age once. She's just having some fun." Tara said with a laugh as she and Mia watched Tristen get into the car. Mia had a scowl on her face that reminded Tara of Mia's own mother.

"Yeah, well I don't like that asshole. He's just using her and it pisses me off." Mia said as the car peeled away. Tara laughed and shook her head with a smile.

"She's fifteen, Mia. She'll wise up and move on eventually." Tara wrapped her arm around Mia's shoulders as they walked back down towards the hospital. Mia smirked and cut her eyes at Tara.

"Yeah? Like you did with Jax?" Tara and Mia both laughed at the irony of Tara's previous statement. She was the last person to claim first loves as something to move on and learn from.

Happy parked his bike next to Mia's Land Rover and headed up the stairs with a yawn. It was a quarter to one and he had not been able to reach Mia since a little after ten. He brushed his hand over the engine and felt that it was completely cool, so she'd been home for at least an hour. Happy frowned as he let himself in with the key Mia had given him. She'd laughed when she explained how suspicious neighbors would get if he kept picking the lock.

"Mia?" Happy scooped her up into his arms and smiled at the way she positioned herself into the crook of his neck. She had fallen asleep on the couch and Happy hated seeing how dressed up she'd gotten for the date he'd missed. She barely made a noise as he carried her back into the bedroom.

"Next time you're going to stand me up, how about giving me a call before two hours after the fact." Mia mumbled as she curled up with her pillow. Happy ran his palm over his scalp and twisted his mouth, as he got undressed.

"I couldn't exactly step away before then, Mia. We can go out tomorrow." Happy said as he pulled her over to his chest. She resisted at first, but then she sighed and wrapped a leg over his waist and rested her head on his shoulder.

"Mia, come on. I said I was sorry." Happy groaned as she avoided his lips again. She narrowed her eyes at him and tried to get out of bed again. Happy wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her back in. She laughed and looked back at him.

"Actually, you never did say you were sorry. I can't play around in bed all day. I have an interview in an hour." Mia said, with a quick kiss to his cheek. He groaned and loosened his hold on her.

"Where's the interview?" Happy asked as he sat up against the headboard and watched her get dressed. She backed up to him and looked over her shoulder.

"A little help here? I can't reach the zipper." Mia said with a smile. Happy smirked and made a point to brush his knuckles over her skin as he pulled the silver zipper up to just below her fresh ink. He kissed her shoulder blade and ran his eyes over the tattoo.

"Go get the ointment and I'll put it on for you. Where's your interview, Mia?" She grabbed the bottle of ointment and passed it over to him. She was planning on doing it after her normal, morning routine, but Happy was particular about taking care of the tattoos he did. Mia sat down on the edge of the bed and looked over her shoulder at the half naked biker in her bed.

"It's at a salon in Oakland, babe. It's a good opportunity. I would only be working four days a week and I'd be home by eight." Mia said as Happy rubbed ointment over the dry skin where she'd gotten tattooed last week. He paused and she looked up at him.

"I just wanted to know, babe. You don't have to justify it to me or sell me on it. I trust you." Happy said with a shake of his head. Mia turned around to face him and smiled.

"Sorry, I guess I'm not used to making decisions without it starting a fight." Mia said as Happy pulled her hips back towards him. He kissed her chest and nipped at the flesh of her cleavage that was accentuated by the black dress. Mia moaned and pulled his mouth up to hers. Their kiss had no less heat than the first time they kissed at the clubhouse.

"Go, Mia. You're going to be late. Let me know how it goes. Should be at the garage all day." Happy said before kissing her one last time and moving to the other side of the bed and throwing the covers off of him. Mia watched as his tattoo covered muscles rippled with his arms stretching above his head. She bit her bottom lip and turned away, knowing that if she kept looking his way, she'd never get to Oakland on time.

Happy watched Mia leave the apartment with her signature smile in place. He leaned against the kitchen counter and spun the reaper ring on his finger. Yesterday's run was still weighing heavy on his mind and he wondered if she would still look at him that way if she knew what he did. She wasn't innocent by any means, but Happy could make most of the hardest gang bangers quiver and shy away. The last thing he wanted was to lose Mia or let the club down.

"You turning into some type of morning person, Hap?" Tig asked as he looked over at his brother who was walking through the clubhouse doors at just after nine in the morning. Happy hitched his shoulder and moved around the bar to get some coffee flowing through his system.

"Nah. Chibs around?" Happy asked as he filled a mug with sludgy looking coffee. It was obvious Tig had made the pot that morning, which meant Bobby was still sleeping off the night before somewhere. Tig nodded and pointed down the hallway.

"I heard him moving around when I got up. Everything okay? You seem more human recently." Tig said before finishing off his drink. Happy shook his head and gritted his teeth in order to swallow down the bitter, burnt coffee.

"I'd be better if this shit wasn't burnt." Happy said before tossing the mug into the sink and spitting the taste out of his mouth. Chibs chuckled as he walked into the room with his signature sunglasses over his eyes, despite the low light in the clubhouse. Happy inclined his head in greeting before grabbing a bottle of water out of the mini-fridge.

"Smell like shit." Chibs grumbled as he sniffed the coffee. Tig rolled his eyes and hitched a shoulder as the Scott grabbed a bottle of Jameson instead. Happy smirked at his brother's morning pick me up and headed off to the garage. He wanted to talk to Chibs about balancing a woman with the club, but didn't feel like catching more shit from Tig.

"Morning, doll." Candy traced her hand over the back of Happy's kutte as he stood in the office and thumbed through work orders. He didn't bother looking back as her as he stepped away and shrugged his kutte off. The sound of the door closing caught his attention.

"The fuck are you doing?" He growled as Candy started unbuttoning her jeans. She paused and her eyes went wide. Happy snarled and threw the door that led to the garage open, leaving the dumbfounded croweater standing awkwardly in the office. He shook his head and hung his kutte up on the hook in his locker as he pulled a work shirt on over his t-shirt.


	10. Chapter 10

Mia walked out of the salon with a bright smile and gave the owner a wave as she headed back to her car. She felt confident about the interview and thought that she'd fit in pretty well with the other women. The woman had even complimented her on the ohm tattoo that was starting to itch again. Mia sent Happy a quick text, letting him know she was headed back to Charming.

"Hey baby," Mia answered the phone without looking at the screen as she merged onto the freeway. She heard a feminine scoff on the other end of the line and rolled her eyes.

"This is Karen, Mia. Have you seen Tristen?" Mia looked over at the clock on the radio and twisted her mouth. It was well after time for school to be out and she hadn't gotten any messages from Tristen about covering for her or anything like that. Mia took a chance and covered for her little sister the best she could.

"Yeah, sorry. She's babysitting Opie's kids and her phone died. I'll call the house phone and have her call you." Mia put more pressure on the gas pedal as her intuition told her something wasn't right.

"She's not to be hanging around your new friends all the time, Mia. Have her come straight home after she's done." With that, Karen hung up on Mia who was weaving in and out of traffic to get back to Charming. She hit her steering wheel with the heel of her hand when three calls to Tristen went unanswered.

"Hey, Mia. I'm elbows deep in oil right now babe, make it fast." Happy held his phone between his shoulder and his ear as he once again tried to break the bolt loose. Mia took a deep breath and swallowed hard.

"Baby, I know you're busy but something's wrong with Tristen. She's not answering my calls or Karen's and she didn't go home after school." Mia said as she laid on the horn at a car riding particularly slow in the passing lane.

"Mia, calm down. I'll get a prospect to finish this shit and track her down." Happy tossed his wrench into his tool box and snapped at the prospect before gesturing towards the old Ford truck. Mia didn't slow her car down, but she did start breathing again.

"Call me if you find her." Mia said as she swung around the car that had been holding her up. Happy nodded and snapped the phone shut as he started wiping the oil off his hands and arms. Chibs looked up from the sandwich he was eating on the bench and raised his brow.

"Mind helping me find a rogue kid?" Happy growled and pulled his kutte on over his work shirt. Chibs nodded and tossed the half eaten sandwich in the garbage. Happy headed over to Mia's apartment to go ahead and get the most obvious starting point out of the way.

"Damn, ya got a key and everything?" Chibs asked with a chuckle as Happy unlocked the front door and walked right in. He nodded silently and cleared the apartment quickly. He didn't think she'd be there but it was the closest to the shop and had to be checked off the list eventually.

Chibs followed Happy around town and kept his eyes open for the Oswald girl. They eventually ran out of obvious places to check and Happy needed more to go off of. His phone started vibrating and he stood to answer it as Chibs walked out of the diner they had found to be fairly full but no Tristen in sight.

"Happy?" He pulled the phone away and looked at the number he didn't recognize for a moment before asking what the caller wanted gruffly.

"Mia gave me your number and told me to call you in case of an emergency." Happy finally recognized Tristen's voice and signaled for Chibs to mount up. Happy buckled his helmet and waited for more information. Half-way through the story he realized she wasn't getting to the important part any time soon.

"Where are you, kid?" Happy interrupted her without hesitation and snapped the phone shut as soon as he got the address. It was a nice part of town that wasn't too used to the club or the bikes, but Happy wasn't going to let that change his decision. Chibs stayed right beside him all the way to Rolling Hills Farms.

Happy and Chibs saw Tristen walking down the road with a hooded sweatshirt over her head and her arms wrapped tightly around her waist. Happy signaled for Chibs to stay back as he got off his bike. Tristen didn't even look up at Happy before throwing herself against his chest and sobbing violently. He hesitated for a minute before hugging her back and remaining silent until she was done wailing.

"Will you take me to Mia's, please." Happy noticed the slight lisp to her words that had never been there before. He caught her by the chin and forced her face up towards him. Happy's blood began to boil at the sight of her cut lip and bruising on her cheek bone.

"Come on, kid." He growled as he moved over and sat on his bike to keep from going door to door and finding who did this shit to her. Happy decided to wait until he had more information and a name before tearing the guilty party apart. He knew Mia was worried and the most important thing was to get Tristen back to her family.

"Mia!" Tristen started sobbing again as she ran into the kitchen and wrapped her arms around her older sister. Chibs followed Happy inside and closed the door behind him. He couldn't help imagining finding his own Kerrianne in a similar state and it had him worked up.

"What the hell happened, Tristen?" Mia wasted no time jumping into the questions Happy had waited on asking. She was furious to see that someone had hurt her baby sister and needed to know exactly what happened. Tristen shook her head adamantly but none of the adults in the room were convinced.

"It's embarrassing, Mia. Can we not talk about this until they're gone?" Tristen asked as she gave Happy and Chibs an apologetic smile. Mia opened her mouth to respond but Happy beat her to it.

"No. I'm involved in this now, kid. You want to leave out the feelings, that's fine but answer your sister." Happy growled as his patience started running thin. He was already pissed off and it was getting hard to keep that down in front of the kid.

"He just got a little carried away, Mia. I don't think he meant to hurt me." Tristen reflexively bit her bottom lip and hissed at the sharp pain and taste of blood left on the tip of her teeth. Mia narrowed her eyes and darted them from Happy to Tristen.

"What do you mean he didn't mean to, Tristen? Your lip is split like you've been in a fight, not to mention your cheek." Happy could hear the anger and bad memories in Mia's voice and it just pissed him off even more.

"He just likes it a little rough, okay? Jesus, this is so embarrassing." Tristen's cheeks were a dark red and her slight laugh at the end sent Mia and Happy over the edge. Happy was cut off by Mia this time.

"A fucking kid says he likes it rough and then busts your face up? That's bullshit, Tristen. There's a huge difference between a rough fuck and getting the shit beat out of you." Mia's voice grew louder and the accent she'd picked up in New York grew stronger and stronger. Tristen pushed away from her and shook her head.

"You don't even know what you're talking about!" Tristen yelled back at her older sister. She was embarrassed having to talk about her sex life in front of two men and she didn't want to admit that Tanner had hurt her. It brought back too many memories.

"Oh? I don't know what I'm fucking talking about, Tristen? Why don't you ask Happy since you don't believe me? You don't see a busted lip on me, do you? The last guy that left me with a busted lip and bruises is at the bottom of the Hudson River, Tristen." Mia stormed away and everyone but Happy flinched at the slamming of her bedroom door. He took a minute to process what she had said about the Hudson River and realized exactly why she'd come back to Charming.

"Call Tara, brother. You," He said pointing at Tristen. "do not leave this apartment. I'm not in the mood to chase your ass down for the second time today." She scowled at him and set her jaw but knew better than to disobey him. Happy gave Chibs a look that let him know to keep an eye on the flight risk before heading down the hall to check on Mia.

"We both know I can pick the lock, Mia. Don't make me waste the time." Happy rasped as he tried the door knob. He heard Mia scoff loudly before the door was unlocked. She was back on the bed before Happy got inside the room. He closed and locked the door back.

"I don't want to talk about it." Mia grumbled as Happy walked over to her. He shook his head and toed his boots off before climbing onto the bed and pushing Mia's back down onto the mattress. He kissed her neck and chest before rolling over onto his side.

"You need to tell me everything, Mia. I can't protect you if I don't know everything." Happy growled as she rolled over to her side to look at him. He knew better than to think she'd cry over the asshole again.

"I told you it wouldn't change things or make it go away if you killed him. I didn't mean to, at least not consciously. He was taking a shower after he attacked me and I hit him in the back of the head with the bathroom garbage can." Mia took a pause and twisted her mouth. Happy couldn't help the smirk on his face.

"You killed him with a trash can?" His raised brow made Mia chuckle and relax a little. She hitched her shoulder and ran her hand over the part of his shirt that was covering his happy face tattoos.

"It was granite. I just meant to knock him out long enough to get away. There was so much blood though." She shook her head and curled her lip. "After a couple hours, I admitted the truth to myself and started cleaning up the evidence. I bleached everything and then I put him in the box our new stove came in and hauled it down to the garage. We lived in a building with mostly senior citizens so no one was out there after midnight. It was a pain in the ass but I got it in the back of my Land Rover and drove down to the river. Now I'm here." Mia felt as if a weight had been lifted off her shoulders and slammed down onto her stomach. She rushed off the bed and wrapped her arms around the toilet. Happy grimaced at her reaction to her own guilt and walked in behind her to hold her hair.

"You're okay, baby. Look at it as a public service." Happy said quietly as Mia paused and caught her breath. She shook her head and the expulsion started up again. He growled and shook his head, wishing it had been him to kill the bastard and save Mia all the guilt and pain.

"Thank you." Mia said as she crawled into bed after a long day of dealing with her feelings and Tristen's unhealthy relationship. She'd had a long talk with Elliot and caught him up on everything that had happened with Tristen recently. Mia knew that when Tristen found out she'd talked to their father she'd be livid, but she was out of options. Elliot agreed to let Tristen stay there that night and he'd pick her up in the morning.

"No need to thank me, Mia. Chibs is going with me tomorrow night so the little asshole doesn't end up in a shallow grave." Happy said with an eye roll. He wanted to take his anger out on something but agreed that the kid was a little young to die. Happy was giving him a chance to change per request of Mia and Tristen.

"Good. Tell me everything is going to be okay, Hap." Mia said as she curled up against his chest. Happy kissed the top of her head and wrapped his arm around her.

"I'm not going to let anything hurt you, Mia." He growled as his mind raced with thoughts about how to best manage the information she'd given him. It was his job to make sure she didn't have any fall out from what happened in New York.

You know that's not the same thing." Mia said with a little yawn. Happy nodded and pulled her closer to him. He couldn't even be mad at her for not telling him before. He just wanted her to be safe. Within moments, they were both sleeping heavily.


	11. Chapter 11

"Your face looks like shit." Happy told Tristen as she walked into the kitchen. He was telling Mia goodbye and getting ready to head out to the garage. Tristen glared at him but didn't say anything. Her cheek was hurting and the break in her lip was sensitive. Mia gave Happy a quick kiss before he walked out of the apartment.

"Does it really look that bad?" Tristen asked, avoiding her reflection in the stainless steel refrigerator door. Mia nodded and leaned back against the counter, looking her little sister over. Tristen sighed and grabbed an orange juice out of the fridge.

"I'm sorry for yelling at you last night, Tristen. We need to talk." Tristen followed Mia over to the couch and sat down sideways, facing her sister. Tristen couldn't help but notice how vulnerable Mia looked.

Mia told Tristen all about her last few years in New York. From stripping her way through school to the physical abuse she had fallen victim to. Tristen's tears rolled over her lip and stung sharply. Mia was able to keep it together but only just.

"I didn't tell you this to get sympathy, Tisten. I just want you to understand why I was upset last night. I know you're young and Tanner isn't Matthew but I want you to be careful." Mia said with a small smile. Tristen leaned forward and wrapped her arms around Mia's neck.

"I'm sorry, Mia. I love you." Tristen said, wishing her hug could fix everything. Mia kissed her cheek and nodded.

"It's okay, baby girl. I'm in a good place now. I've got you and my new job and things are a lot better now." Tristen pulled back and dried her eyes.

"You forgot someone on that list." Tristen gave Mia a little wink and watched her older sister's cheeks redden. Mia sighed and pushed her hair back.

"I care about him and really like spending time with him but I don't even know what we are. I'm horrible at relationships." Mia said with a head shake.

"Have you talked to him about it? I know he cares about you." Tristen said, sipping on her orange juice. Mia shrugged.

"He said he doesn't do relationships and then he said that I'm his. I don't even know. What are you doing?" Tristen stood up and took her phone out as Mia raised her brow. She caught the twinkle in the young girl's eyes and jumped off the couch. "Tristen!"

"Hey Grouchy, are you busy?" Tristen asked as she slammed the door between she and Mia. She flipped the lock and walked over to sit on the bathroom counter. Mia pounded on the door and Tristen smirked.

"Not my name, brat. What's wrong?" Happy took a break from working on the pan head a customer had dropped off for service and stepped out of the garage for some privacy. He could hear Mia yelling at Tristen in the background and had no idea what was going on.

"What are your intentions with my sister?" Tristen tried to keep the giggle out of her voice as Mia yelled. Happy raised his brow before smirking a little. He heard Mia threatening her little sister with a variety of creative forms of torture.

"She asking or are you?" Happy asked, leaning against the metal garage door. Tristen rolled her eyes and sighed.

"I am." She finally said, knowing Happy probably wasn't going tell her anything. She heard him laugh before he answered.

"She's my ol' lady. Long as she wants to be. Don't say shit about it. Haven't asked her yet." Happy said, figuring the kid knew to keep her mouth shut when told. She giggled a little and Happy rolled his eyes.

"Okay, good talking to you Happy!" Tristen hopped down off the counter and smiled at her livid sister. Mia gaped at Tristen as she walked past her like nothing happened.

"You little shit! What'd he say?" Mia asked as she opened the front door. She looked over to welcome Elliot in and her heart almost stopped. The men on the landing were marked up with white hate tattoos over their chests and arms. Mia tried to slam the door closed but the larger man stopped it with a heavy boot. Tristen screamed and fumbled with her phone to call Happy back. She dropped it just as she selected his name.

"Hey chica, where's your boyfriend at now? You remember me?" Mia scrambled backwards as the man grabbed her throat. She gasped for air and shook her head. Tristen yelled at the man to let Mia go. The man looked over at her and slammed his fist against the wall. "Shut up, bitch! We aren't here for you!"

Mia kicked out, trying to get the man to let her go. The man's accomplice grabbed Mia's legs and held them still. Mia spit at the man she recognized from the bar and lashed out with her nails before she lost consciousness. She felt the back of her head connect with something hard and heard Tristen scream.

Happy looked up to see Oswald's Mercedes pulling in to the lot. He ignored it and went back to work on the pan head that was just about finished up. It was around four in the afternoon and he needed to get this done. He and Chibs were teaching Tanner a lesson as soon as he turned in the slip to Gemma.

Jax took a deep breath and nodded as he led Elliot Oswald over towards the garage. Chibs, Tig and Juice raised their brow and the tools stopped, sending an unsettling silence over the garage.

"Hap, we need to get to St. Thomas. Mia's hurt." Jax got to the point quickly so Hap wouldn't be as likely to shoot the messenger. Happy dropped the wrench and looked at Jax as he stood up.

"Okay." Happy shoved past Jax and got on his bike, simultaneously fastening his helmet and starting up. Chibs followed Happy off the lot, knowing he wasn't going to wait for everyone else. Tig looked at Oswald and shook his head.

"What happened?" He asked as he walked over to his Harley. Oswald frowned and swallowed hard.

"Two white guys came in and beat her pretty bad. Made Tristen watch the whole thing." Oswald called as he got back in the car. He wished he could have just called and avoided the volatile men but no one would answer the office phone and they changed their cell numbers all the damn time.

Happy burst into the emergency room waiting area with Chibs right on his heels. The receptionist looked over at the nurse beside her nervously. Happy walked up and the young woman rolled her chair back.

"Mia Oswald, where is she?" Happy growled, looking around for Tristen and listening for Mia. The receptionist stammered and shook her head.

"I'm sorry, are you her family?" The question irritated Happy and Chibs stepped forward.

"Aye, can ya get Dr. Knowles, lass?" The receptionist nodded enthusiastically and picked up the phone to page Tara. Happy turned around and started scanning the room for any familiar faces that would know Mia or Tristen. He took a step towards the kid's boyfriend Tanner when Tara showed up.

"Happy, she's getting X-rays right now. Come on, you can wait in her room." Tara saw the anger in Happy's eyes and knew if he was told to wait in the waiting room he'd get arrested or worse. Chibs nodded and hung back to wait for everyone else.

"Happy!" Tristen flew into Happy's chest and wrapped her arms around him tightly. Tara smiled cautiously as he hugged her to him. It never failed to amaze her how caring the club members were. Sure, they rode loud bikes, wore leather kuttes and lived outside the law but they were also the most caring people she had ever encountered, doctors included.

"You okay, kid?" Happy looked down at her and checked for any new injuries. She nodded and stepped back with a sniffle. He nodded and offered her a toothpick. She laughed a little and took one with a weak smile.

"She was mumbling your name on the way over. I don't remember your number and those dick heads smashed our phones. I'm sorry Happy." Tristen's bottom lip started trembling and Happy shook his head.

"Not your fault, Tristen. You drive the traffic cone over here?" Happy asked to change the subject. She nodded and held up the keys. Happy nodded and they fell into a tense silence until Tara reappeared with Mia being rolled into the room. Her left eye was purple and blue. It had swollen to the point where she couldn't even open it. Happy was hit by a flood of anger and concern; the mix of emotions made his head ache.

"Tristen, let's give them a minute." Tara said softly as the nurses left the room. Tristen nodded and gave Mia's foot a squeeze on her way out. Happy walked to the side where Mia could see as the door closed.

"Mia, I'm sorry, baby." Happy said, bending down and carefully kissing her lips. She shook her head a little and reached for his hand. Happy took her hand in both of his and sat down in a chair. She tried to smile but it made her wince. "This isn't going to happen to you again, Mia. I promise."

"What'd you tell Tristen when she called you earlier?" Mia said groggily. Happy smiled and kissed her hand.

"Told her I wanted you as my ol' lady but I changed my mind." He watched her frown a little and chuckled. "I need you as my ol' lady, Mia."

"Only if you smile." She rasped. He smiled and Mia nodded before slipping into a medicated sleep. Happy sat with her, just holding her hand until Tara came back in a half hour later.

"Her X-rays came back better than we expected. She has a few fractured ribs but nothing too bad. We're keeping her overnight and getting a specialist to look at her eye but nothing is broken there." Tara supplied before Happy could even ask. He nodded and put her hand on the blanket as he stood up.

"They do anything else?" Happy wasn't one to beat around the bush but he didn't want to say rape in front of Tristen. He knew she knew what they were talking about but he still wouldn't say it.

"No, Hap. They didn't." Tristen said, taking the seat he'd vacated." She ignored the look he gave her, tired of the sympathy. He nodded and headed out to talk to Jax. "He loves her, doesn't he?"

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure he does." Tara said with a smile. She'd known Happy for several years and had never seen him care about someone this much besides his mother, of course. Tristen nodded and smiled.

"She loves him to." Tristen said, pulling her legs up onto the chair. She was happy for her sister, despite what had happened. She knew enough about the club to know that those men would never hurt Mia again. She had refused to speak to the police or her father about the men for that very reason.

Happy looked at the red water as it circled the drain. It wasn't the first time he'd showered blood off of himself after a job but this was the first time it had been personal in several years. His shoulder and fist ached from the repetitive blows to the men that had hurt Mia, but he could live with it. She was being released from the hospital in a few hours and he'd taken a couple of personal days from the garage. He was still on call for the club but Jax said he'd try not to pull him in. Once the water ran clear, Happy scrubbed his body with shower gel and ran a razor over his head and jawline before stepping out and drying off.

"Yeah?" Happy answered the door in nothing but a towel wrapped around his waist. Elliot Oswald raised his brow and looked the man he'd tried to avoid in the eyes.

"Just brought some groceries over for Mia. Sorry, I didn't know you'd be here." Happy furrowed his brow and stepped aside to let Elliot in.

"Why'd you knock then?" Happy asked, tossing the door shut. Elliot looked back from the refrigerator as Happy headed down the hall to get dressed. He knew Happy had a point, he just didn't want to admit he knew anything. Anytime it came to the Son's business, it was best to know nothing about anything they did.

"Mia is a great girl, Happy." Elliot said as he reappeared, fully dressed including his leather. Happy nodded and grabbed an apple. He tossed it up and caught it a few times, waiting for him to continue.

"Is this where you threaten me if I hurt her?" Happy asked just before chomping down on the apple. Elliot let his shoulders drop and Happy smirked. "Not gonna happen, brother. I care about her."

"Okay. Well, good." Happy smirked at the man's renewed confidence before grabbing the keys to Mia's car and heading out. Elliot watched the man leave and felt himself breathe easy. He finished unloading the groceries before locking up and heading to the office.

"Hey Mia, you ready to bust out of here?" Happy asked with a smirk. Mia tried to smile but her face still hurt to much. She wasn't a fan of prescription pain meds, so she was just working with a lot of tylenol and it wasn't cutting it. Happy nodded and kissed the top of her head before helping her out of the wheelchair. Her chest was so sore she didn't even try to breathe too deeply.

"You didn't have to pick me up, Hap." She took his hand that was resting on her leg as he drove. He looked over at her with a straight face but didn't say anything. He got that she was sensitive but he didn't want her to draw away from him. They didn't speak until he started helping her up the stairs.

"Happy! I can do it myself!" Mia panted as she pushed his hand away. He scowled and let her try to take a couple steps on her own. She whimpered and he moved to help her again.

"Damnit. Mia, stop being so stubborn. I'm trying to help you." Happy growled as he tried to help her again. She stumbled and he heard her sob. He sighed and helped her despite her argument.

"Why are you doing this, Happy? What happened to those men?" Mia asked as she braced herself against the counter. Happy slammed the front door and looked at her incredulously. Mia frowned.

"I beat them to death, Mia. They hurt you." He noticed she wasn't surprised but watched her sigh and shake her head.

"Why does it matter, Happy? I'm just some half wetback ex-stripper." She sobbed again and tried to turn away from him. He caught her hand and stopped her.

"Shut up. You want to hate yourself because of what some skinheads said? Damnit, Mia. You're my ol' lady. You think that doesn't count for shit?" He loosened his hold on her wrist and let her choose to face him. She started crying again.

"Look at me, Happy. I don't have anything to offer you." Mia said, pushing his chest. He turned to leave and stopped after a few steps.

"I look at you all the time, Mia. You don't have to offer me shit. Damnit, Mia! I love you." Happy was as angry with himself as he was with Mia. He wasn't ever supposed to take up an old lady or fall in love with some bitch. He did though. He broke both his rules and fell in love with Mia hard and fast.

"I love you." Mia whispered, taking his hand as he decided whether or not to leave. The feel of her hand in his changed his mind. He turned around and looked over her beaten face. He didn't even see the bruising or the swelling. All he saw was the woman he couldn't see living without.

**I'm sorry it has literally been forever since I've updated this! I'm going to do better, I promise! Thank you all for reading and being patient. What do you think about the recent revelation?**


	12. Chapter 12

"I can do it myself, Happy." Mia groaned as she tried to get out of bed. Happy pulled away and laid back down. He sighed and watched her struggle. They fell asleep together last night and he'd been under the impression everything was okay. He remembered why he never put up with old ladies.

"What's wrong with you, Mia? I'm trying to help you." Happy said as Mia pushed up from the mattress slowly. She looked back at him and narrowed her eyes.

"What's wrong with me? I love a man that beat two men to death this week. I'm not supposed to love you, Happy. I'm supposed to stay away from the things that aren't good for me. I came back to Charming to start over, not fall into a relationship with a murderer." Mia said, hobbling over to the bathroom. Happy heard the shower start and tried to keep from dragging her out of the shower and taking back everything he said last night.

Instead, Happy got dressed and left the apartment. Mia heard him moving around, followed by the door slamming closed. She let her tears mix in with the water. What she had said to him was true and was meant to push him away. Mia knew she loved him and a part of her didn't want him to leave, but she knew if she stayed with him he'd kill for her again. Maybe it wouldn't happen that month or even in the next year, but one day someone would threaten her or hurt her and he would kill them.

She made her way out of the shower and winced and groaned as she dried herself off. Without anyone around to hear her, she didn't have to hide how much pain she was in. She opened a drawer and saw Happy's stuff still there next to hers. She assumed he'd probably come get it after a while, but she pulled one of his t-shirts on over her head in the mean time. The shorts she pulled on was more difficult and Mia almost busted her butt after losing her balance.

"Your coffee is getting cold." Happy said as Mia walked into the kitchen. She screamed out and covered her mouth with her hand. Happy held the coffee cup out to her. It was from the café down the street.

"I thought you left." Mia said, taking the coffee with a tiny smile. Happy nodded and took a bite of a muffin.

"I did. I came back." Happy said, looking Mia in the eyes. Her eye was a little less swollen and she was able to open it all the way now. She took a drink of her coffee and realized it was exactly how she always took it. She sighed and put the cup down on the counter.

"I'm not sorry about what I said earlier." Mia said with a little shrug. Happy nodded and took a step towards her. She wanted to put some distance between them but her feet wouldn't move.

"Shouldn't apologize for the truth. I told you before. It's not just a tattoo, Mia. I'm not some serial killer. Every kill I do is for a reason. It's either to protect my club or protect my family. You snuck your damn way into the second one, Mia." Happy narrowed his eyes at her and watched her sigh.

"So, what? I'm supposed to be okay with you killing people for me? What happens when you get caught?" Mia put the coffee down and felt her lip trembling. Happy sighed and put the coffee down. She let him hug her carefully and rested her head on his shoulder.

"If I ever go inside it'll be on me, not you. You don't get to put that on yourself." Happy said, planting a kiss in her hair. She nodded and leaned against him. She probably could have tried to push away from him more, but she couldn't bring herself to. As little sense as it made, she loved him and didn't want to be with anyone else again.

"I love you, Happy." Mia kissed his lips as she pulled back. He nodded and pulled an envelope out of his inside kutte pocket.

"This is yours when you want it." Mia looked at the envelope and assumed there was probably a custom crow drawing for a tattoo she was a little intimidated by. She nodded and he sat it down on the counter.

Happy and Mia moved over to the couch and watched crime shows together. Well, Mia watched television while Happy worried about the repercussions of her actions in New York. He knew that a man like her ex would be missed and it's always the significant others that are looked to first. Sure, she'd high tailed it to the other side of the country, but it wouldn't be too hard for any rookie detective to track her down. It bothered him because she was not only connected to the club but she was directly connected to him.

"What are you thinking about, Hap?" Mia knew something was on his mind when he didn't correct the show's writers for their ridiculous plots. Mia rolled over and looked up into his eyes that were now cast down upon her. He ran his hand over his scalp and took a deep breath. Mia sat up, automatically missing the connection between their bodies that she'd broken by taking her head off his lap.

""Worried about blow back from New York, pretty girl. I just got you. Not ready to lose you yet." Happy spoke honestly and it seemed to make Mia nervous. He didn't want her pulling away from him again, but she needed to be prepared.

"The club. This is why I didn't want to get connected to you all." She started feeling a weight on her chest that seemed to be crushing her windpipe.

"It's too late now, Mia. I'm not letting you go." Happy shut her idea of running down with those simple words. She knew he had better ways to find her than even the police did. He didn't have jurisdictional limits.

"Then what do we do?" Mia asked, pulling at her cuticles. Happy took her hand and pulled her back onto his lap.

"We watch these stupid shows and take a couple days to think and get you less purple and blue. I'll have Juice see what they cops in New York know." Happy's voice sounded more confident than he felt but it helped Mia. She nodded after a couple moments and settled back in for more television.

"They'd never dust a whole fucking car for prints." Happy growled as he tried to turn his attention to the episode of CSI-Las Vegas. He found it amusing that they were searching a piece of desert that looked very similar to a strip of desert where he'd chosen to bury a man in a shallow grave during his last trip to Vegas. Something told him sharing that fact with Mia probably wasn't in good timing.

"So, do you ever wonder if any of the people you've taken out have shows like 48 Hours about them? Like, what if we were watching something like that and you were like, damn, I killed that fucker three years ago?" Tristan asked as they sat around the living room eating Chinese food she'd brought over. Happy raised his brow and lowered his chopsticks. He'd honestly never considered it.

"Those shows are usually about decent people that vanish. I don't think there's ever been a decent person that I've killed." Happy said nonchalantly before eating more of his lo mein. Mia looked between Tristan and Happy and shook her head.

"You shouldn't ask stuff like that, Tristan. You shouldn't even know about it." Mia said with a pointed glare. Tristan shrugged.

"I mean his nickname is Killah." Tristan muttered under her breath. Happy slurped a noodle up and thought she had a point. He wasn't going to argue with Mia though.

"Speaking of nicknames. Douchebag giving you problems?" Happy asked the young girl. She'd agreed to break it off with Tanner if Happy and Chibs would stay away from him.

"Uh, no. He's not." Tristan said quickly. Happy narrowed his eyes and looked over at Mia who looked ticked.

"How did you get over here, really?" Mia growled, tossing her container onto the coffee table. Happy resisted the urge to pick it up and take it to the garbage just yet.

"Dad was busy and I wanted to see how you were. I'm sorry. I tried to break up with him but he promised he'd never do it again." Happy cut her off by slamming his fist on the coffee table. Mia and Tristan jumped and looked over at him.

"Are you that stupid? Or are you just starving for attention? Hell, wait 'til you're legal and you can be a fucking croweater if you're that desperate to get put through hell. You want assholes using you and smacking you around? Fuck, Tristan. I know you're Mia's half sister but apparently she gets all her brains from her Ma." Happy was yelling before he even realized it. Tristan just looked shocked.

"Happy, you can't talk to her like that!" Mia yelled at him. He snarled and kicked himself for upsetting her.

"Somebody needs to. Better than busting her face up like the kid she's hooked on." He snapped back, letting his anger go after making his point. Tristan smacked him across the face with a loud pop and a sting to her hand and his cheek. He didn't move to stop her as she grabbed her overnight bag and stormed down to the guest room.

"Are you done?" Mia asked, glaring at him. He sighed and picked up the takeout containers and threw them away before coming back to the couch.

"What? I care about the kid and she just keeps doing stupid shit." Happy growled as Mia put her legs across his lap. He wasn't angry anymore and the clarity made him realize what he'd said to the girl. Mia shook her head.

"Happy, she sees SAMCRO as her big heroes and you just broke her heart. We're all going through a lot right now and if she needs some time to break up with that asshole then give her some time. Where are you going?" He had stood up and put her legs on the couch where he'd been sitting. He was on his phone and pulling his kutte on.

"Chibs, we've got that thing tonight." Happy growled into the phone. Chibs agreed, of course, and Happy was headed back to tell Mia goodbye.

"I gave my word that I'd teach him a lesson. She broke her word that was stopping me. Sorry, Mia. I'll be back later." He kissed her on top of the head and started towards the door.

"Happy!" He turned back to see her turned towards the tv. "Don't get carried away. I love you."

"You too, Mia." Happy left the apartment and double timed it down to his bike. He needed to put this to bed. He needed to do something that made him feel like he could control something.

Meanwhile, Mia walked softly into her sister's room and climbed into bed behind her. Tristan was crying and Mia felt like hell so the two Oswald girls just held each other until their tears put them to sleep.

"Mia okay with us doing this, brotha?" Chibs asked as Happy walked into the clubhouse. Happy shot him a look. "Aye, nevamind then."

"Let's just go." Happy growled as he reappeared with his backpack. Chibs had seen the horrors that could come from that leather bag and wondered where the line was going to be with the kid.

Happy strolled right up to the front door of the house he'd been given the address for back before he'd made the deal with Tristan. He pounded his fist on the door and waited. Then he waited some more and decided it didn't suit him. He pulled out a pick from his back pocket and made swift work of the lock. Chibs groaned and followed his brother inside, happy to see the alarm wasn't armed.

There was loud music and the smell of high grade marijuana coming from behind a solid oak door. Happy tried the knob and smirked when the door cooperated with him. There was a flight of stairs leading down into a basement and the music was almost deafening. Chibs felt himself getting a contact buzz from all the weed that was in the air.

"Piece of shit." Happy growled as he ducked back behind the stairwell wall. Chibs raised his brow and took the ski mask Happy passed him. "Got a gash riding him. Don't feel like catching charges from her running her mouth."

Chibs nodded in agreement as they pulled their masks into place. Chibs followed Happy down into the room and clapped his leather gloved hands loudly to get the kids' attention.

The girl screamed and jumped off the couch, scrambling to grab something to cover herself with. Chibs grabbed a jacket off a hook and threw it over to the girl. She turned her back on them and pulled it on quickly.

"You see anything tonight?" Happy growled. The young girl whimpered and shook her head. He nodded and pointed up the stairs. "Get out and keep your mouth shut."

"Dude, just take whatever you want." Tanner said, lifting his hands in surrender once he'd gotten his pants back up. Happy shook his head and advanced quickly, catching Tanner by the throat and forcing him to his knees. He grabbed a handful of his hair and pulled his face up to look at him.

"You beat that girl yet? Piece of shit." Happy slammed his fist into the boy's eye. He was disgusted by the thought of him hitting Tristan. Happy hit him again before Tanner doubled over to protect himself.

"Ay, yah made yah point." Chibs said as Happy kicked his ribs again. He was having a hard time holding back and he was glad Chibs was with him, in a way. He grunted and backed away, ripping his mask off and taking a moment to enjoy the cool air on his face.

"Come near her again and I won't bring anyone with me next time. Ignore her calls and forget she exists." Happy said, pressing the tip of his knife against Tanner's throat just hard enough to draw a drop of blood.

"Let's go, brotha." Chibs nodded towards the door that seemed like it would leave directly outside. Happy wiped his blade off on the young man's chest before sheathing it and following Chibs out.


	13. Chapter 13

Happy sat outside Mia's place for about an hour before deciding to stay at the clubhouse instead. He knew Tristen was upset and showing up after sending her boyfriend a message probably wasn't the best idea. Besides, Happy thought he needed some time to process what was going on with he and Mia.

"Hey, everything okay?" Chibs asked as Happy walked into the clubhouse. He hadn't planned on seeing the man until tomorrow at the earliest. Happy nodded and sat down at the bar next to him.

"Fine." Happy said, bordering on his first lie to the man he considered a brother. He asked the blonde behind the bar for a beer before leaning back and rubbing his forehead with his hand.

"Ya know, when ya first started spendin' time with tha girl, I thought ya were gonna get between 'er legs and then call it a job done well. Wasn't really until I saw ya at tha hospital tha' I realized ya loved 'er. That why ya're sittin' here? Ya realize that?" Chibs asked, putting his neck on the line for prying into Happy's personal life. He'd known the man for going on ten years but his life outside the club had always been some what off limits, even if it was never a spoken rule.

"She got into some trouble in New York. It's why she came back here. It's the kind of shit that'll follow her here eventually." Happy said after a long pull from the bottle. Chibs nodded slowly and considered the situation. He didn't have all the facts and knew Happy would share them with the club when the time was right, but just knowing there was trouble had Chibs concerned.

"You either need ta bring her further in or step away from her. Can't be half in an' half out, brother." Chibs got the reaction he expected when Happy narrowed his eyes and slammed his empty beer bottle onto the bar.

"I'm not leaving her. She's the best damn thing that's come my way." Happy shot back at Chibs. He watched his brother laugh and it only had his back up further. Chibs shook his head.

"You don't even want ta be here right now, Hap. Nothing going on except beer and pussy. You got both of that with your ol' lady." Chibs said, his laugh trailing off. Happy nodded and stood up from the bar to head back over to Mia's place. Chibs was right, everything he wanted at that moment was in that apartment.

"Where are you going, sweetie? You just got here." A croweater with a black pixie cut asked, catching Happy's hand. He paused and looked down at the woman. She couldn't be much older than eighteen. She took his pause as an invitation and started sliding her hand up Happy's arm. Her lips were just pressing on his neck when he shoved her off, startling her.

"Happy?" He looked up to see Mia standing in the doorway to the clubhouse with her keys in her hand. They looked into one another's eyes for a minute before she shook her head and turned to leave. Happy moved quickly to follow her. She was already in her Evoque and backing out of a parking space. He stepped in front of the car and told her to stop.

"Get out of the car, Mia." Happy said, not moving when she revved the engine at him. He slammed his hand onto the hood and shook his head. "Mia, get out of the car. It's not what you think."

"It's not what I think? I came over here to check to see if you were okay!" Mia yelled, flying out of the car towards him. He dropped his hand from the car and ran the other over his scalp. "I was worried about you and here you are getting ready to."

"To what, Mia? I wasn't getting ready to do anything besides come home to you. I've got no reason to waste time with them, babe." Happy yelled back, hating the fact that they were fighting in the middle of the lot like this. He hated arguing with her at all.

"She's younger and she probably has a lot less baggage." Mia said quietly. Happy shook his head and took a step towards Mia and tried to calm his rage. He couldn't believe she would not only think that he would cheat on her but also think that she wasn't better than that croweater.

"Mia, I don't care what she is or what she has. I'm not going to and wasn't about to do anything with her. Stop acting like," Mia cut him off and shoved him hard in the chest.

"Acting like what, Happy? Like a jealous girlfriend? Like a bitch? What? Please tell me how I'm supposed to act. You know everything else." She snapped, shoving him again. Happy caught her wrist and held it firmly in his hand.

"Don't shove me again. You don't want to believe me? Fine, but that's your choice. You don't get to put your trust issues on me. I've never done anything to deserve that."

"No, because I walked in before you could." Mia said as he dropped her wrist. Where he'd been holding her didn't hurt. What hurt was the pained look in his eyes as she mustered up a scowl to hide her own pain.

"Leave if you want to Mia. I'm not stopping you." He straightened his kutte and met her gaze. His expression was neutral as he struggled between being mad and being hurt. Feeling hurt wasn't an emotion he was all that familiar with and he definitely didn't like it.

Mia hesitated a moment more before turning away from Happy. She knew if she didn't do it then, she'd never be able to. Her steps towards the car felt like she was dragging cinderblocks by her ankles. Mia knew she didn't have much left. If she didn't leave that lot right then, the whole plan would fail and she'd run to him. She'd let him love her as she loved him.

Happy watched Mia's orange suv leave the lot and his anger subsided completely to pain. The idea of being hurt by a woman sent a blow to his gut. He waited until he could no longer hear the car's exhaust. Then, he headed to his bike. He headed to the only thing he had left that could make him truly happy.

Mia sat in her car with her forehead on the steering wheel. She couldn't get a handle on her breathing. The sobs and tears came hard and fast. Happy could have been the love of her life. Up to that point, he was. That was the problem. She loved him too much to see her past catch up with her and hurt him or his family in the process. It was bad enough her own flesh and blood could get hurt. She couldn't control that though.

"Dad, can you come get Tristen? I need to leave for a little while." Mia said, hoping he didn't hear the tears that still ran down her cheeks. She bit down hard on her bottom lip as she waited for his response.

"Are you okay, Mia? You sound upset." Elliot may not have been in his eldest daughter's life for the past few years, but he still knew when something was wrong. One of the biggest red flags was the way she called him Dad.

"Yeah, no, I just had a fight with Happy. I'm going to go visit a friend in San Francisco for a couple days." She didn't have any friends on this coast. Not outside of Charming at least.

"Mia, did he hurt you? Tell me, sweetheart. Club or not, they aren't above the law. I can talk to the Sheriffs." Elliot was pulling on a pair of jeans and grabbing his keys, half ready to go confront the killer himself.

"Jesus, no Dad. I cheated on him and he found out." She almost choked on the lie it was so outrageous. Mia didn't cheat and she certainly wouldn't have cheated on Happy. It make her stomach flip just thinking about she and Happy in the past tense.

"Alright, Mia. I'll be there in a few minutes." Mia knew Elliot didn't believe her but she was thankful he didn't push the subject any further. She drove the rest of the way to the apartment while taking deep breaths and focusing on what she had to do next. If she could just get out of Charming then everyone would be okay.

She shoved clothes into a couple duffle bags, making a point to avoid Happy's drawer. Tristen was sound asleep in the guest room and Mia knew she was short on time before their father got there to get the young girl. She poked her head into the room and said a silent goodbye to her little sister. It was never the plan to leave her again but Mia was naïve to think that staying was in any way better for anyone.

3 Months Later

"Have you talked to Mia?" Jax asked as he walked into the kitchen for breakfast. Tara slowed the stirring of the eggs and shook her head. Jax had a feeling she wasn't telling the truth, but he also knew about the blood oath they'd made at the age of eight. Tara and Mia swore to keep each other's secrets unless the other was in mortal danger. That's why Jax didn't know about Tara's plans to leave Charming until it happened. He couldn't blame either one of them. He'd do the same for any of his brothers.

"Do you want some coffee?" Tara asked, hoping he'd drop the subject of Mia. He came up to stand beside her and she could tell by the look on his face that he knew she was hiding something. She sighed and turned the oven eye off. "Jax, I swore."

"Yeah, Tara, I know you swore. Didn't you set an expiration date for that shit or something? I know she's like a sister but Hap's all messed up over her." Jax said, grabbing the coffee pot as Tara put eggs on plates for herself, Jax and the boys.

"There is no expiration, Jax. I know he's not exactly himself." Tara chose her words carefully when what she really wanted to say was that he was scarier than she'd ever seen him. She wanted to tell Jax that even she was a little uncomfortable around him as of late.

"If you did talk to her, you'd let her know we miss her right? Not just Hap. I miss her and so does everyone else." Jax said, kissing her on the cheek. Tara nodded and felt like she was five inches tall. She hated keeping things from her husband, even if he kept more things from her then he'd ever admit.

Soon after Jax left for TM, Tara put Thomas down for a nap and got Abel working on a coloring book. She checked the doors before holding her phone between her shoulder and her ear and letting it ring. It was less than 50-50 that Mia would answer.

"Hey, T." Mia sounded groggy and Tara wondered if she had woken her up. She glanced into the living room to see Abel still coloring.

"Mia, how are you?" Tara asked, wiping off the stove. It's how must of their conversations started. After that point, Mia would either lie or tell the truth, depending on just how bad she was. Tara begged her to come home or let Tara come see her. She refused both.

"Not great. How are the boys and Tristen?" Mia asked, readjusting her shoulders and neck.

"The boys are growing too fast and Tristen is doing okay. She's quiet and misses you, but she's okay." Tara wondered if Mia was going to hang up on her again. "Mia, Jax asked me again if I'd talked to you. There's barely any point in lying to him since he knows I'm hiding something."

"There is a point, Tara. You know that. I don't want hi-I mean anyone hurt." Mia always heard herself saying these things and wondered when exactly she would come to believe it.

"Mia, he needs you. He'll never say it to anyone but you but everyone knows it. Everyone sees it." Tara said, hoping something would click in Mia's head today. She heard her best friend sigh and felt her hopes slipping away.

"I love him, Tara. He'll be okay without me. It's better for him this way." Mia started feeling sicker and sicker to her stomach with every word. Tara looked at Abel and took a deep breath. Her mind was made up.

"Okay, Mia. Okay. Are we still on for tomorrow?" Tara asked, hoping her voice sounded natural. Mia looked up at the ceiling fan and nodded.

"Yeah, I'll see you tomorrow." Mia ended the call and tossed the phone onto the pillow beside her. She closed her eyes and let the tears swell up. It happened more often than not.

"Where's Jax?" Tara asked as she climbed out of the car. Nita had agreed to watch the boys while Tara went to the garage to talk to her husband. Tig pointed towards the garage office. She gave him a smile with her nod and headed that way. There were loud voices flowing out from under the door.

"I don't care if she's Tara's damn twin. Happy needs to get over that gash and be a man. I'm sick of his attitude. I won't walk on eggshells for him!" It was Gemma and Tara only had to assume that Jax was in there with her. Before she even reached the door, her old man came bursting out of the office.

"What?" He barked at Tara, letting his anger get the better of him. She didn't seemed to be affected by his tone. She seemed too preoccupied by something else.

"I need to talk to you." Tara said. Jax started to object and Tara shook her head. "It's about this morning."

"Alright, come on." He took her hand and led her back into the clubhouse. Happy was sitting at the bar with a glass of water when they walked in. He caught himself snarling at their interlaced hands. He resented their happiness.

"I know where Mia is, Jax." Tara said quietly as she sat down on the end of his bed. Jax wasn't surprised to hear this.

"I figured you probably did. What couldn't wait, Tara?" He sat down on the chair in front of her and leaned forward. She took a deep breath and swallowed hard.

"She's just outside of Stockton. Jax," She bit the bullet and looked into her husband's blue eyes, "she's pregnant."

Jax blinked a couple times before rubbing his eyes with his thumb and index finger. Not only had his SAA's old lady disappeared out of the blue, now he was finding out she was pregnant to. He mentally crossed his fingers and hoped for the answer he needed.

"Does Happy know?" Jax asked. Tara shook her head and watched her husband's face screw up like someone had stabbed him in the chest.

"That's why I'm telling you. I'm going to see her tomorrow, to drop off some medicine. I thought if we could get the two of them together then they'd work things out." Tara started to realize that she must have been high on cleaner fumes when she thought this was a good idea.

"Alright but you need to go home. I'm not telling him anything about the kid. That needs to come from her. I'll let you know how it's going to work when I get home." Jax stood up and kissed her lips softly. He could tell she was relieved to have finally opened up to him. She nodded and headed out of the room behind him. He waited until she was clear of the clubhouse to approach Happy.

"Hap, Tara knows where Mia is. She's going to see her tomorrow." Jax moved back quickly as Happy jumped up from the bar stool. He narrowed his eyes at his president and took a step towards him.

"I know where she is, Jax. You think I wouldn't find that shit out?" Happy growled. Mia had been at a cottage just outside Stockton for the past eighty-four days. She wasn't working anywhere and she only seemed to leave to go to the grocery store or meet with Tara every two weeks.

"You knew and you didn't go get her?" Jax hadn't seen that coming. He figured that if Happy knew where she was, he would have already gone and dragged her back to Charming. It made hiim wonder if he'd been wrong about what was bothering the killer all along.

"No, if she wants to hide then she can think she is." Happy had a feeling she wasn't hiding from him as much as from New York. He and Juice were the only ones that knew about what she was hiding from. Chibs knew something from their talk the night she left but nothing more than a general knowledge that she was running from her past.

"Hap, you need to talk to her. She needs, just talk to her." Jax was dodging the task of bearing the news at all costs. He trusted Happy to take a bullet for him without thinking twice but that didn't mean the killer wouldn't put one in him.

"She okay?" Happy felt himself thawing a little. That thaw brought pain along with it.

"Yeah, I mean she's fine. Damint, brother. She's pregna-" Happy didn't wait for Jax to finish that sentence. He was throwing the door open before Jax could let out the breath he'd been holding in anxiously.


	14. Chapter 14

The Cottage

Happy stopped his bike down the street and stared at the cottage he'd watched Mia move in and out of for almost three months now. It had taken him a little while to figure out exactly where she was. He'd planned on doing exactly what Jax expected of him and barge in, forcing her to come back with him. That was before he took a minute and thought things through.

In Happy's mind, forcing Mia to come back with him would have brought up too many feelings about New York and how her ex had treated her. He didn't want to push her even further away. Happy wanted her to come back to him when he was ready. As the days and weeks went by, Mia staying away from him started to bother him more and more.

He watched a light turn on in the front of the cottage and wondered what she was doing. It was late afternoon and normally this was when Happy would show up. She normally wasn't inside at that time. She was usually coming back from a run. He propped his arm up on his handlebars and thought about what he was going to say.

Mia still felt sick to her stomach. She'd thought it was from her conversation with Tara earlier but it seemed to get worse as the day progressed. She had decided to move from the bed to the couch so she could change positions and try and feel a little better. Tara was trying to convince her to go see a doctor to be evaluated for Hyperemesis Gravidarum which Tara explained was a condition that came from severe vomiting. Mia was trying to avoid going to a doctor in case she ran into someone from the club.

She turned on the television and saw that a rerun of CSI that she remembered watching with Happy. She turned it off immediately and started crying into the pillow. She couldn't even blame it on the hormones. She missed Happy. She grabbed the envelope on the coffee table and pulled out the drawing of what would have been her crow tattoo.

A loud bang on the door made her jump back. She wasn't expecting anyone and doubted that Tara could even hit the door that hard. She tried to move back into the bedroom but her body wouldn't move. She covered her mouth with her hand and tried to keep from hyperventilating. The bang sounded again and again, sending her further into tears.

She heard someone messing with the lock and grabbed for her phone. She knew it wouldn't save her from whoever was breaking in but that didn't stop her from dialing. She sobbed as the phone rang, wondering if he would even pick up.

"Happy! Baby, I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Someone's trying to get in and I'm scared. I love you." He could barely understand her through the sobbing and took his pick out of the lock. He put his forearm against the cool, wood door and rested his head on his tattooed arm.

"Mia, open the door. You're okay, babe. Just open the door." He said, his heart breaking all over again at the sound of her tears. She continued to sob and he wondered if his words had even reached her ears. He closed the phone and started yelling into the cottage instead. He knew the neighbors would probably call the cops, but he needed inside and he needed her to stop crying.

"MIA! OPEN THE DOOR! IT'S JUST ME! COME ON, BABY!" Mia blinked at the door, wondering how on earth he could have found her. She rubbed her face with the back of her hands and moved closer to the door. "Mia, come on."

"Happy," She couldn't say anything else before crashing into his chest and resuming her crying. He sushed her and smoothed her hair as he slowly guided her back into the cottage. Crying or not, having Mia back in his arms felt right. It felt like he was somewhere closer to normal now.

"Mia, stop crying, darlin'. I'm right here. You're safe, babe." He looked at her figure and realized her features were a little softer now. Her hips curved a little more and her boobs looked bigger, but maybe that was just because he'd been viewing her from a distance for so long. She sniffled and looked up at him eventually, which made Happy feel like he was falling in love with her all over again.

"How did you know where I was?" Mia asked, wondering if Tara had in fact broken their pact. Happy pulled her head towards his shoulder and shook his head.

"I've known where you were, Mia. I was just hoping you'd come around. You want to tell me something?" He asked rubbing her bare back. She had opened the door in nothing but a bra and a pair of flannel pajama bottoms. He felt her bottom lip retreat back into her mouth and tried not to laugh. Nothing about their situation amused him, but he was so damn relieved to have her back in his arms that everything else seemed to matter a lot less.

"I'm sorry I ran, Happy. I just wanted you clear of everything with New York. I didn't want to risk you or the club or my family. I just wanted you to be safe. When I saw you at the clubhouse, I just used it as an excuse." Mia was putting everything out on the table for him, wondering at which point he would blow up. "I thought about coming back before I was even gone a week, but I started getting sick. That's when I found out I was pregnant and I panicked. I didn't know what to do."

"You could have started by telling me, Mia. We could have figured all this shit out together. Why do you have to try and do everything by yourself?" He still wasn't as angry as he was on the ride down from Charming, but he was mildly irritated.

"I don't know. I'm sorry. I can still put it up for adoption or do this on my own if you don't want it." She was on the verge of tears again and Happy stepped away from her, balling his hands into fists.

"Damnit, Mia. You don't even think there's a chance that I might want it?" He raised his brow as she shoved past him, hurrying down the hall. When he heard a door slam, he narrowed his eyes. "Mia."

He opened the door and knelt down beside her. She was emptying her stomach into the toilet again and again. Happy frowned and got a washcloth out from under the sink. He ran it under cold water and moved Mia's long, brown hair to the side so he could put the cool rag behind her neck.

"I'm sorry, Happy." She struggled to breathe as she recovered from the sickness that had hit her. Happy nodded and pulled her into his lap, just holding her to him as they sat in the floor of the small bathroom.

"I want this kid, Mia. I want you and this kid back in Charming with me. We'll figure everything out, okay?" Happy hadn't planned on the night going like this. He was going to yell and blame her for leaving him. Seeing her sick and holding her in his arms changed that though. Now he just needed her happy, safe and with him.

"Okay." Mia nodded and closed her eyes, finally feeling safe and comfortable. She nodded again and whispered, "Okay," before falling asleep in her man's arms.

**Didn't want to keep you all hanging to long! I'm hoping to get back to regular updates again soon :)**


	15. Chapter 15

"You're really here." Mia said, rolling over to look at Happy. He put his hand back on her hip where it had been before she moved and nodded. Mia ran her hand over his bald head and kissed his lips.

"Don't pull that shit again," Happy rasped before kissing her. He rubbed his thumb over her hip and nodded. "Soon as this kid gets here, I'm putting a crow right here."

"What if I have stretch marks? You probably won't even want me after the baby comes." Mia said, letting him in on some of what was stressing her. He took a deep breath and pulled back to look her full in the face.

"What's it going to take to get it through your thick skull that I love you? Damn it, Mia." Happy got out of the bed and started pacing the room, running his hands over his skull. "Tell me, Mia! Do you want a ring and vows or a house a picket fence? What?"

"I'm sorry, Happy. I'm barely breathing here. I'm having a baby with you and I don't even know why you want me. Karen was right. I'm more trouble than I'm worth." Mia said, immediately regretting it.

"What? You're shitting me, Mia. You're quoting your father's bitch of a wife? You make me a better person, babe. I want to be a better person for you. You think you aren't worth the trouble? Mia, you're worth my life ten times over. Karen, your ex, anyone that's ever made you feel different are the ones that aren't worth shit." Happy said, trying to make her understand how he felt and what she meant to him. This wasn't the Mia he was used to, but he knew his Mia was in there somewhere, under all the fear and self-loathing.

"Were you with anyone while I was gone?" Mia asked, figuring she might as well get the question out of the way. Happy sighed and shook his head.

"No, Mia. Not even a blow job. Any more stupid questions?" He asked. She shook her head and caught his hand, pulling him back to bed. "What are you doing?"

"Showing you how I feel about you." Mia whispered, kissing his neck and then his lips. He wasn't done clearing the air but he also hadn't had anything better than his own hand in three months. He returned her kiss and gently pushed her back down onto the pillows.

"Are you coming back with me now?" Happy asked, toweling off from their shower after their make-up sex. Mia nodded without hesitation. Happy glanced over and thought he could almost see her stomach starting to poke out a little. He smiled and turned away, wanting to keep that smile to himself for a little while.

"I, well, we can find out the gender next week if you want." Mia said as Happy helped her put her bag into the back of her SUV. He looked over at her and smiled.

"Yeah, I need to know if I'm buying a new gun to take my son shooting or a new gun to shoot at boys who try to talk to my little girl." Happy said. Mia rolled her eyes and laughed, finally able to relax now that Happy was with her again.

"I'll follow you." Mia said through her rolled down window. Happy nodded and kissed her lips before walking over to his bike. Mia watched him walk and could almost picture him carrying a little girl on his shoulders. The vision wasn't something she could have ever imagined before that moment.

Happy revved his bike to get Mia's attention and waited for her nod before he headed towards Charming. He had a million thoughts going through his mind, which was nothing new to him, but now they centered on his old lady and unborn child. He was thinking about getting a house and moving out of the clubhouse and maybe even getting a dog or something to keep Mia and the kid company while he was on the road.

He headed directly to her apartment, knowing Elliot hadn't touched anything since Mia left. They'd exchanged heated words about it one day when Happy stopped by to check on the place a few weeks after she'd left. Eventually both men realized that they both cared about and loved Mia and Elliot left everything just the way it was. Happy stopped by every so often to get some clothes but he didn't stay there without Mia.

"Son of a bitch." He growled, recognizing the proud parent sticker on the back of Karen's Mercedes. It was the only thing that made her car stand out from Elliot's identical sedan. Happy put the kickstand down and let the bike idle as Mia parked a couple spots down. The last thing he wanted was Mia to get upset and sick or to kill the stupid woman in his old lady's apartment.

"You okay?" He asked Mia as she came around to the back of her Land Rover. She looked pale and tired to Happy and the shake of her head told him he was right about something being wrong.

"I don't feel good. I need to take my medicine and lay down. Shit." She groaned, looking up to see Karen walking down the stairs. Happy grabbed Mia's bag and pressed the button to close the lift gate as Karen walked over to them.

"Absolutely not. You are not staying here, Mia. You've broken Tristan's heart by leaving like that. Not to mention your poor father! If you were going to run away then you never should have come back in the first place." Karen said, wasting no time in digging her claws into Mia. She was a little surprised when Mia didn't fight back. Instead, Happy told her to head upstairs and promised he'd be up in a few minutes.

"Go ahead, talk more shit about Mia. I have thousands of places that I could bury little bits of your body. They'd never find enough of you to know what happened." Happy snarled, adjusting the bag to his left hand. Karen took a startled step back.

"You can't just threaten someone like that!" She said, wondering if the wild looking man had ever killed someone before. His laugh all but answered that question.

"I was just giving you fair warning. It's more than most people get." He said before turning away and heading upstairs before making his plan a reality. Mia was already on the couch with CSI on the television by the time he locked the front door behind him. He took a deep breath and looked at his expecting girl-friend. He nodded to himself and looked up, wondering if there was a heaven that his Ma was looking down on him from.

"Mia, marry me." Happy said. It was to the point but that was just Happy. Mia sat up and looked at him as he stood over by the door, turning something over in his hand. She thought about everything they'd been through since meeting in the bar that night and her hand went to her stomach reflexively. She knew that she'd wanted to be with him even when she was away.

"Okay." She said with a smile. He dropped her bag by the door and crossed the room, taking her hand in his and slipping his mother's ring on her ring finger. Mia blinked a couple times and looked up at him. "It's beautiful."

"Yeah," Happy said, looking not at the ring but at Mia. She brought her eyes up to meet his and felt her cheeks turning pink. "I missed you, Mia."

"I missed you to, Happy. It's not going to happen again. I swear." Mia said, leaning forward and kissing him softly. He kissed her lips again and again, not able to get enough. She pulled back slowly with a warm smile. "I'm sorry but I'm really not feeling up to much more than lying here."

"That's fine, baby. We can watch some tv and then get some food later, if you feel like it. May want to let Tara know you're back in Charming before she goes driving to Stockton though." He said, moving the end of the couch so she could put her head in his lap. She laughed and shook her head.

"I talked to her on the drive up. She's already asking me about having a baby shower." Happy liked hearing the smile in her voice as he rubbed her fingers with his thumb. "I still haven't talked to Tristen yet. I feel horrible for hurting both of you."

"She's your sister. She'll forgive you." Happy said, moving his hand down to Mia's stomach. "When does she start kicking?"

"She? I read that it could be next month or it could be in a couple more months." Mia said. She looked at his ringed hand resting on her stomach and smiled. "I hope it's a little girl."

"It is." He took his phone out of his kutte and answered it quickly. "What's up, I'm busy."

"Sorry, Hap. Wouldn't bother you if it wasn't important. I just got a tip that the Irish aren't too happy about our deal with black. We're going on lockdown, brother." Jax said, wishing he didn't have to do this, especially with Mia feeling like shit.

"I got it. Mind sending the tow truck to get my bike?" Happy asked, knowing Mia shouldn't be driving right now. She looked up at him and raised her brow. "Thanks, Jax. Sorry, baby girl, we're going on lockdown. Wouldn't do it to you if I thought it was safe to keep you here."

"I trust you, Hap. At least I'll get to see Tara. Promise me one thing though." She said, sitting up slowly. He nodded, ready to promise her the world. "Will you please get me some grapes? The seedless green ones."

"Yeah, I'll get you some grapes." Happy said with a laugh. She smiled brightly and, despite the lockdown, felt more relaxed and happy than he had in months.


	16. Chapter 16

"You sure you're okay?" Happy asked Mia for the third time since they'd started on their way to the store and then the clubhouse. She kept her eyes closed and nodded slowly, once again. Something about being back in the car so soon had her feeling queasy and dizzy. "I don't want you doing anything inside, baby. I'm serious. There's plenty of help to get the place ready. You just try and relax and let me know if you need anything."

"Happy, I'm pregnant, not an invalid." Mia said with a sigh. She glanced over at him when he turned off the engine. He had a scowl and Mia knew there was really no arguing with him. She nodded and took a deep breath. "I won't do anything and I'll let you know if I need something."

"Just trying to take care of you." He said simply before getting out of the car and grabbing her bags out of the back. She met him at the rear of her car and took his hand, hoping it would help her head level out.

"I think I'm going to lay down in your room, Hap." Mia said with a slight groan. Happy knew she felt like shit. The normal light in her eyes was all but gone. He nodded figuring it was probably a good idea for her to avoid the crowd right now anyways. They made their way into the clubhouse and back to his dorm without a word to anyone else. Gemma watched Mia Oswald with narrowed eyes and deep suspicion. She could understand the girl leaving years ago, but not this time.

"When did she get back?" Gemma asked Tara with a snap. The younger brunette looked up just in time to see Happy and Mia disappearing down the hallway and it brought a smile to her lips.

"Just now, probably. Don't be like that, Gemma." Tara knew that Gemma didn't trust anyone that tried to step away from the club, regardless of their reasons. She watched Gemma's lips purse and wondered how long it was going to be before Mia or Happy informed her that she was here to stay in no uncertain terms. When it came to protecting one another, Tara had seen few couples so passionate.

"I don't trust her." Gemma said flatly. Tara watched as Happy walked back out of the hallway and started to approach she and Gemma. She wondered if, somehow, he'd heard what Gemma said.

"Thank you, Tara. For taking care of her and everything." Happy said, giving her a rare half-smile and a nod. Gemma raised her brow and made a noise in her throat. Happy turned his head slowly and looked at Gemma square in the eye. "What?"

"Your old lady runs away and you're thanking Tara for helping her? In my day," Gemma snapped her mouth shut when Happy pulled his knife and stabbed it down into the bar top just beside Gemma's arm. The whole clubhouse went silent and looked on.

"I suggest you don't finish that thought." Happy growled as his knife stopped quivering from the force that he'd put behind it. Gemma was almost as white as Jax's shoes. She blinked a couple times before slowly nodding her head. Happy glared at her for another moment before yanking his knife out of the bar and putting it back in the leather sheath.

He looked around the room for a minute and made eye contact with Jax. They exchanged nods before Happy headed back down the hall to be with Mia. He knew that if he stayed anywhere close to Gemma at that moment, he'd kill her.

"How are you feeling?" Happy asked as he toed his boots off and hung his kutte on the back of the door. Mia rolled over and looked at him, shaking her head softly. Happy frowned and got into bed next to her. Mia moved closer to him and put her head on his chest.

"Thank you for being here, Happy." Mia felt horrible for leaving Happy like she did. If she could have done the last few months over, she wouldn't hesitate to do so. She was afraid that she wouldn't be able to rebuild that trust.

"Wouldn't want to be anywhere else. You thought about any names?" Happy said, rubbing her lower back to try and soothe her. She shook her head and pressed a kiss to his chest. "What about Harley?"

"I'm not naming our child after your motorcycle." Mia said with a laugh. Happy smirked.

"My motorcycle's name is Diana, like the princess." Happy said, loving the look of shock on Mia's face. He laughed and kissed her lips. "I'm serious. She was hot and a good person."

"So, the killah's bike is named after a humanitarian? You see the irony in that, right?" Mia was still laughing and Happy loved it. He had missed her laughter.

"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up." Happy feigned being annoyed and it only made Mia laugh harder. After a minute, she fell into silence and got repositioned in his arms.

"What about Leia?" Mia asked, glancing up at him. He seemed to think about it for a minute before shaking his head.

"Not naming her after Star Wars characters either." He said. "We got a few months to think about it. Go to sleep, giggles."

"Okay grumpy." Mia said with a smirk. She heard him huff and squeezed him tight. Happy stayed awake as long as he could, just taking in everything that he'd been missing for the past few months.

Mia woke up alone. She checked her phone to see that Happy had let her know that they'd gone to meet with the Irish and he'd reminded her not to do anything strenuous or stressful. Mia headed into the bathroom, hoping a warm shower would take her aches away. She paused at the mirror and turned sideways. She could see the changes pregnancy had caused. Her stomach was just starting to protrude and she knew she wouldn't be able to hide it from everyone else much longer.

After a thirty minute shower, she wrapped herself in a towel and walked out to the bedroom. She stopped in her tracks when she saw Gemma setting clean sheets in the chair. They shared a look for a minute and Mia held her towel closer to her. Gemma watched her carefully.

"How far along are you?" Gemma asked, seeing the glow in the young woman's cheeks. Mia blushed a little before shaking her head.

"I don't want anyone to know yet." Mia said, wishing Gemma hadn't noticed. She sighed. "Almost four months."

"You don't have long before your belly will poke out. Won't be able to hide it forever. I wondered why Happy let you come back." Gemma said, shaking her head as she turned her back and left. Mia frowned, wondering if Gemma had a point about why Happy welcomed her back into his life. It took her almost a half hour to get that thought out of her head.

Mia changed the sheets and tidied up the room, not wanting to face the croweaters or anyone else out in the bar. She got comfortable with a pregnancy book that Tara had given her a few weeks ago, just hoping that she didn't get sick again.

"Hey, are you hungry?" Tara asked. Mia looked down at her watch and sighed. It was after two in the afternoon and she still had not eaten anything. She wasn't particularly hungry, but knew she needed to eat for the baby.

"No but I need to. Gemma noticed." Mia said with a frown. Tara nodded, having just talked to Gemma about it. She was still trying to get it through to Gemma that it was in her best interest not to be hateful with Mia. Tara was frustrated, feeling like she still wasn't getting through to her.

"Everyone is going to know eventually, Mia. Jax said the guys can tell something is up with Happy. He's apparently more on edge about security and keeping their business partners as far away from home as possible." Tara said, leading Mia into the kitchen where there were several trays of sandwiches and salad bowls. Mia grabbed a half of a sandwich and some salad before walking back to the bar with Tara.

"He seems on board with it. I gave him an out, told him I could do it on my own." Mia said, stabbing her salad with a fork. Tara laughed a little.

"The last thing he'd want to do is walk out on his old lady and his kid." Tara said, knowing him enough to know that. He was all about family, blood or not. The man literally had a promise to his family tattooed around his collar bone. Regardless of whatever else he may or may not be, Happy was loyal to his family and held them above all else.

"It's still kind of surreal." Mia said, glancing down at her stomach. Tara smirked and leaned closer to her friend.

"It will be until they're in your arms. Even then, it takes a while to sink in." Tara whispered, keeping her voice down to avoid a croweater cleaning the bar overhearing.

"Tara! We need you!" Juice said, bursting into the clubhouse before disappearing back out to the lot. Mia felt her heart sink to her toes. Tara squeezed her hand quickly before hurrying to the door. It felt like hours during the few moments it took for Juice and Chibs to carry someone Mia didn't recognize inside the clubhouse. She still didn't breathe until she saw Happy walk inside on his own two feet. He was whole, that's all she needed.

Honestly don't know if I"m going to continue this or scrap it. I've tried multiple times to revisit it and get some vision on how to finish it out. Just giving you all a heads up. Thank you for your continued support!


	17. Chapter 17

"What are you doing here?" Tristen asked, branching off from her friends and walking over to Happy's motorcycle. She hadn't seen Happy since before Mia left Charming. Karen had told her that Mia had come back a few days ago but Tristen had yet to hear from or see her. "Is something wrong with Mia?"

"Yeah, she doesn't have her sister around." Happy said, peering down at Tristen from behind his darkly shaded sunglasses. Tristen rolled her eyes. "You're gonna need to grow up if you want to be my kid's aunt."

"Well I—wait, what? Your kid's aunt?" Her hand flew up to her mouth but it wasn't enough to cover her huge smile. "Mia's pregnant? How?"

"I'm the last person that should explain that shit to you. Don't you have sex-ed or something? Biology?" Happy asked, teasing her for the choice in words. He laughed as her cheeks went red. "She was pregnant when she left, just didn't know it yet."

"Is it a boy or a girl?" Tristen put all of her hurt feelings behind her. She was ecstatic to hear that she was going to be an aunt.

"Don't know yet. That's why I'm here. She's got an appointment in fifteen minutes. Want to come with?" Happy asked, knowing it would mean a lot to Mia. Tristan nodded enthusiastically but then hesitated. "You really need to get a license. Climb on."

"Thank you, grumpy." Tristen said, putting the helmet on and getting settled in behind him. He shook his head, wondering when both she and Mia would stop calling him that. Happy navigated the streets of Charming easily, even though Tristen wasn't the best passenger. She would lean the wrong way during turns so he had to compensate for it.

"Mia!" Tristen all but yelled, running into the waiting room. Mia looked up from her parenting magazine at her little sister's voice. Tristen hugged Mia carefully, taking extra care not to hurt the baby. Happy watched their encounter with a inward smile, on the outside, he was stoic as ever.

"I'm sorry, Tristen." Mia said, pulling back. Tristen shook her head and pulled Mia back into a hug.

"Don't be. We're sisters, we forgive each other." She said, finally letting Mia out of her arms. Happy put his hand in the middle of Mia's back and planted a kiss in her hair.

"Mia Oswald." The nurse called out. She took a deep breath as Happy took her hand, giving her all the support she needed. Tristen bounced over to the nurse ahead of Mia. "Let's get your weight over here on the scale and then I'll get your vitals. Are you feeling okay?"

"Right now I am. Morning sickness is a bitch." Mia said, toeing her shoes off and stepping onto the scale. Happy looked at the scale and then Mia.

"You need to gain weight, woman." Happy said, knowing she didn't weigh much less than that before she was pregnant. She was close to four months pregnant now. He didn't know enough about babies and pregnancy but he did know that mothers were supposed to gain weight.

"How far along are you?" The nurse aske, jotting the result of the scale into the chart.

"I think about four months." She said, tallying up the days and weeks.

"When and where was your last ultrasound?" The nurse asked, not looking up from her chart.

"I, well, I haven't had one yet. I've had bloodwork and everything but I haven't gotten an ultrasound." Mia felt guilty and hoped she hadn't put their child in danger due to her depression. The nurse glanced up at her before nodding and making another note.

"The doctor will want to do a pelvic exam but we will schedule it for later this week. Do you have your lab results with you?" The nurse asked. Mia nodded and handed the results over. "Dr. Brantly will be right in."

"You haven't had an ultrasound before?" Tristen asked, sitting down on the rolling stool. Mia shook her head, looking around at all the posters in the room. Happy leaned against the wall near the exam table and looked over a poster about second hand smoke and birth defects.

"Mia Oswald? I'm Dr. Brantly. Are you any relation to Elliot?" The woman asked, closing the door behind her. Mia nodded.

"He's my dad. This is my little sister Tristen and my, uh, fiancé, Happy." Mia introduced them, trying to ignore Tristan's swiveling head when she introduced Happy. The doctor nodded and opened the medical chart.

"You haven't had an ultrasound or pelvic exam yet?" The doctor asked, obviously disappointed in Mia. Happy narrowed his eyes at the doctor, not appreciating her tone. "Your HCG levels are pretty high for four months and your weight is too low."

"She's been sick a lot. Can't keep shit down." Happy growled, tired of the criticism. The doctor glanced over at him and nodded.

"We need to make sure she puts some weight on. Let's go ahead and take a look at the baby and see where we're at." Dr. Brantly eyed Happy cautiously. He relaxed a little and watched as she brought the machine over. Mia leaned back and pulled her shirt up, knowing the gel was going to be cold.

"Do you have a family history of multiple births? Twins, triplets, anything like that?" Happy jumped off the wall and stared at the monitor, trying to make sense of the black and white blobs. Mia shook her head looking up at Happy.

"My ma had a twin sister." He said, feeling light headed. The doctor nodded and pressed a few buttons on the keyboard.

"Well, there are definitely two babies. Here is the first one. See the head and nose?" She pointed to the screen. "This one is almost certainly a girl. Here's the other little head, see the hands? This one is a boy for sure." She pointed to a spot on the screen.

"I'm going to have a niece and nephew? Oh my god!" Tristen hugged Happy suddenly, catching him off guard. Mia smiled at his feigned annoyance.

"I'm going to put you closer to five months than four, Mia. I'm going to prescribe you a medicine for the sickness, it's completely safe for the baby. Let's go ahead and get you in for a pelvic exam and blood work on Friday." The doctor said, printing out screen shots from the ultrasound.

"You still breathing over there?" Tristen asked Happy as he looked at the pictures in his hands. He nodded slowly.

"So, two new guns?" Mia asked him once they got outside. Happy laughed and nodded his head.

"Yeah, two new guns." He said with a large smile. He kissed her lips passionately, ignoring the giggles from Tristen.

I know I haven't updated in a very long time and I do apologize. I've been sick and dealing with very stressful training at work. Please review, I do still appreciate it very much. Thank you for your continued support and I hope that you enjoy.


	18. Chapter 18

Happy watched Mia nervously twisting the end of her hair around her finger. He knew she was worried about telling everyone about the babies but she was more than half-way through the pregnancy. They couldn't wait until she was in labor to tell everyone. The two of them had been looking at houses, knowing that the apartment wasn't big enough for both of them plus two babies.

"Breathe." Happy said, taking hold of the hand that Mia had been twisting her hair with. She looked over at him and took a deep breath. She had on a mint green dress that fell in such a way that you could just barely make out her protruding stomach. In the last couple of weeks, she and Happy had really started to notice the changes with her body. Mia was embarrassed while Happy was mesmerized, he couldn't stop looking at her or touching her.

Happy parked Mia's suv by the clubhouse and gave her hand an encouraging squeeze. She forced a smile along with a small nod

"Looks like everybody's here." Mia said, looking at the row of bikes across from them and Tara and Gemma's cars on either side of her suv. "I just hope it goes over better than telling Elliot did."

They had told Elliot about the twins the day after Mia's ultrasound. He mentioned adoption a few times and told Mia that she deserved better. Happy was still pissed at how he'd made Mia feel. She cried the whole way home and half the night after that.

"It will." Happy said, opening the door to the clubhouse for her. She took another deep breath and walked inside ahead of her old man. The clubhouse was full of life. The Sons were talking and laughing and the other old ladies were by their men's sides. Happy put his hand on Mia's lower back and kissed the top of her head. A few feet away, Jax noticed the couple walk inside and whistled, getting everyone's attention. He gave Happy a nod.

"Everyone in this room is family to me. It's what I love about this club. So, Mia and I want to share something with all of you." Happy took a deep breath and pulled Mia closer. "We're having twins."

The room erupted into whistles and cheers. Mia smiled brightly, relieved by their reaction. Tara came over and gave her a big hug.

"Twins! That's wonderful, Mia." Tara said, hugging her again. Mia chuckled and nodded her head, running a hand over her stomach. "Do you know the gender?"

"A boy and a girl." Mia said, glancing at Happy with a grin. He was still a little freaked about having a little girl.

"Aye, we need more babies around here." Chibs said, giving Happy a hug. Happy nodded and looked down at the mother of his children. He wasn't sure what he did to deserve being this lucky, but he wasn't going to mess it up.

"Look at that, the killah is going to be changing diapers and giving babies bottles. It's precious." Tig teased, clapping Happy on the shoulder.

"Watch it." Happy warned, knowing Tig was having a go at him. He didn't care how it looked or what people would think. He was going to be a hands on dad, everything that his own father wasn't. Having kids wasn't going to make him any less of a man. If anything, he thought he'd be a better man for it.

"If you need anything, you let me know." Gemma said, looking from Happy to Mia. Mia nodded hesitantly. She knew how Gemma felt about her leaving but it was common knowledge that she had a soft spot for babies. "So, when are you two making it official?"

"Uh, well, we actually eloped last week." Mia said, raising her left hand to show her wedding set. Happy watched Gemma closely. He wasn't going to let her upset Mia.

"I must have missed my invitation." Gemma hissed, folding her arms across her chest. Happy shook his head as he took a drink from his bottle of beer.

"Tristen was the only other person there." Happy said flatly. Gemma looked up at him and pursed her lips.

"Well, congratulations." She said after a moment. Mia smiled and initiated a hug. Gemma hugged her back and gave her a peck on the cheek. "You'll be a great mother, Mia, just like your momma would have been."

"I hope so." Mia said, feeling a twinge of sadness. She wished her mother was around to meet her grandchildren. Being pregnant had made her miss her mother like she had when she was a little girl. Happy knew a little of what she was going through but she tried to be strong around him. She knew he missed his mother and Mia didn't want to make him upset.

Happy saw the sadness in Mia's eyes. It bothered him that he couldn't fix everything. She smiled up at him. There was still a twinge of sadness. He gave her a kiss and rubbed her lower back.

"So what are the names?" Tig asked the couple. Mia laughed and gave her head a little shake.

"We haven't been able to agree on anything. I was thinking Alexander and Alexis. We haven't ruled those names out yet." Mia said, glancing up to see Happy shrug his shoulders. Tig nodded and pulled Mia in for a gentle hug.

"We love you, doll face. If you need anything, you just have to ask." Tig said, kissing her cheek. Mia blushed a little and nodded her head, tucking a strand of loose hair behind her ear.

"You look ready to go, Mrs. Lowman." Happy whispered, pressing his lips against her forehead. She felt warm and he was worried that she was overdoing it. Mia felt light headed and tired, but she was enjoying the company of their friends and family. She placed her hand in his and they started walking out to the car.

Happy was torn between the club and his family. Things were rough with new threats coming from every direction. He wanted to be there for her, knowing that the medicine only helped a little. She still felt bad more often than not. He was on the road a lot with the club and when he was in Charming, he was still out with the club on jobs or in church. Mia did her best to understand, telling him that she was okay. She didn't blame him but being alone as they got closer and closer to her due date was starting to scare her.

Mia struggled to rise from the couch and answer the front door. She knew that Tara was on her way over, so she didn't bother checking through the window before pulling the door open. When she saw the two police officers at her door, her heart practically stopped. She gripped the door frame, trying to keep her wits about her.

"Mia, it's your Dad. There's been an accident. He asked us to come here and bring you to the hospital." The young blonde officer said, offering Mia a hand. Mia hesitated and looked at their squad car.

"I appreciate the offer but I don't really think I should ride in your car. Tara Knowles is headed over here. I'll have her give me a ride. Is he okay?" Mia knew officers wouldn't be at her door if everything was okay. "Was Tristan with him?"

"No, no. Tristan was at school. Karen is headed to get her now. The doctors were taking him back to surgery when we left." The other officer said. Mia took a deep breath and rubbed her stomach as she backed away from the door.

"I'll be there as soon as I can." Mia said. The babies were kicking even more than usual, no doubt because of her stress. Mia tried to keep it together as she gathered up her stuff and called Tara to let her know what was going on. Shortly after filling Tara in, she called Happy to let him know where she would be going.

"You okay, baby girl? You don't need to get upset right now." Happy said, stepping away from the interrogation and letting Tig take over for a few minutes. He knew getting the information about the stolen guns was important but his family was more important.

"No, I'm not really okay but I'm going to a hospital. At least if anything happens I'll be there." Mia said, grabbing her hospital bag, just in case. Happy ground his teeth together as the man behind him started screaming through duck tape over his mouth.

"I'll be there as soon as I can, Mia. You need me before then, you call me." Happy said, stepping further away from Tig and the bloodied man. He was getting sick of being torn away from Mia for interrogations that led to dead ends. Time was running out to make things safer for his kids that were likely to come any day. "Tig, move. I don't have time to waste."

Mia ended the call, not even wanting to know what Happy was talking about with Tig. She heard a car pull up and peeked out the window, relieved to see that it was just Tara. Happy was starting to rub off on her.

"Take it easy, sweetie." Tara grabbed Mia's bags and walked beside her, ready to help if Mia needed it. She knew Mia should have been on bed rest weeks ago, but for some reason the doctor never ordered it. Mia was doing her best to put on weight and rest but it wasn't easy.

"Do you know anything about what happened?" Mia asked, carefully putting the seat belt on.

"It was a hit and run. He was leaving the office and witnesses say a large, black SUV hit him in the driver's door and then backed up and took off. They've got officers out looking for the SUV." Tara said, letting her words trail off. Mia nodded.

"They probably won't find it." She said, leaning the seat back. Tara hated to agree with her, but she nodded. It was true, they probably woudn't find the SUV and it was probably intentional. Mia knew, via Tristan, that their father was having trouble with people that were trying to buy his land for a new housing development. At first Elliot had been on board with it but when he later found out more about the people involved, he backed out. He'd been getting threats ever since then.

Mia slid out of her seat and with a groan. It wasn't easy getting around that late in pregnancy. Tara offered to get her a wheelchair but dropped the subject when Mia shot daggers through her eyes. Mia hobbled down the hall after Tara, breathing in through her nose and out through her mouth. It was pretty shocking that she'd been able to run miles just a few months ago. Now, just walking down a hall made her short of breath.

"Mia!" Tristan hurried down the hall with tears streaming down her face. She was terrified. The doctors hadn't been out to tell them what was going on or if Elliot was okay. She carefully hugged Mia. Mia kissed the top of Tristan's head and tried to offer her a strong smile. "I'm so scared, Mia."

"I'm sure they're doing everything they can, doll. I like your hair." Mia said tugging at her little sister's bangs. Tristan managed a smile and it made Mia feel better. She motioned towards the seats near Karen and waddled over to one of the wider seats.

"Do you want a pillow for your back?" Tara asked, sitting Mia's bags down. Mia took a deep breath and rubbed her hand over her stomach.

"Yeah, that sounds great." She said, thankful for such a good friend. Tara disappeared and quickly showed back up with a pillow. Mia took it with a smile and positioned it behind her back.

"I'm going to go back and see what I can find out." Tara said, squeezing Mia's hand. She could tell her friend was uncomfortable and hoped that all the stress wasn't affecting the babies. She made it just behind the double doors when her phone started ringing. "Hello?"

"How is Mia?" Tara couldn't mistake Happy's voice for anyone else's. She paused in the hallway and shook her head.

"I can tell she's uncomfortable. I don't know if it's just the normal amount or if it's because of Elliot. You know Mia probably better than anyone, Happy." Tara said, wishing Mia wasn't so hard to read.

"Yeah, I'm headed that way in a minute. Try and keep her calm. If you've got bad news for her then wait until I'm there." Happy grabbed his helmet and got ready to ride over to the hospital.

"Okay. Be careful." Tara wasn't sure why she said it. She just had a bad feeling about what was going on with Elliot. She had little doubt that the club was tied up with it in some way or another. She ended the call before things could get any more awkward. Tara took a deep breath and headed down the hall to the operating room, hoping everything was going okay.


	19. Chapter 19

Mia put her hand on the lower part of her stomach and tried to ignore the pain. The babies were kicking and she was also feeling sick. She took deep breaths and waited for news from Tara or the doctors. Tristan looked over at her big sister, hoping she was okay. She glanced from Mia to her watch, trying to figure out how long it had been since Tara went back to check on their father.

"When are you due?" Karen asked, hoping to break some of the tension. She was worried sick but she was worried about the girls. Both of the girls. Mia looked up, surprised by the question.

"Um just under two months but the doctor doesn't think I'll go full term." Mia said, remembering the last doctor's appointment clearly. There was all kind of talk about emergency surgery and what to do if this happened or that. At first Mia had been thrilled to be pregnant but now she was terrified.

"Elliot said you're having twins, a boy and girl?" Karen knew how scary pregnancy could be. She herself had complications towards the end of her pregnancy with Tristan. In the end, she and Elliot had a healthy baby girl but they weren't able to have any other children.

"Yeah, we're still trying to decide on names. I guess we may wait until we meet them to decide." Mia smiled remembering how Happy had suggested the names Smith and Wesson as a joke. "We just finished setting up the nursery last week. It's Dr. Seuss themed."

"That's sweet. Good gender neutral theme." Karen said with a smile. Mia nodded, it was one of the reasons she'd chosen it. She woke up early one morning to find Happy reciting green eggs and ham to the babies. Mia let him finish the story before she let him know she was awake. When she'd asked him about Dr. Seuss, he'd told her that his mother taught him how to read with the books. They agreed on how to decorate the nursery before going back to sleep that night.

"Tara, what's going on?" Mia asked, catching her entering the waiting room out of the corner of her eye. Tara slowly sat down in the seat across from Mia. She looked at the three women, all who had their eyes glued to her, waiting for answers.

"He's still in surgery. He lost a lot of blood and there's some head trauma. We still don't have all the answers." Tara wasn't accustomed to glossing over the facts. The truth was, Elliot was still in surgery with a brain bleed. The trauma was pretty extensive. Still, she'd made a promise not to upset Mia. Tara knew there was still a chance Elliot could make it, she just knew it was unlikely.

"Mia." Her eyes shot up at the sound of his voice. She tried to stand but he moved to her side quickly. "Don't, baby girl. Are you doing okay?"

"I guess. He's still in surgery." Mia said, smiling as he laced his fingers in with hers. She felt the babies move and brought his hand over to her stomach. "They're glad Daddy's here."

"I am to." Happy said, pressing a kiss to her temple. He pulled back and looked at her. "You're hot."

"Thanks, baby." Mia said with a little laugh.

"Not what I meant." Happy said, looking over at Tara. She nodded and walked over to the nurses' station. "I'm not taking any chances. Let Tara check you out."

"Happy, this isn't about me." Mia said, shaking her head. "I'm fine. You're probably just cool from the ride."

"Humor me." Happy said, helping her up from the chair. Mia couldn't argue with him. She wasn't feeling well. Tara brought a wheelchair over and thought Mia would probably throw something at her if she was feeling up to it. Happy helped her into the chair, hating how vulnerable she seemed. Tara checked Mia's temperature and it was just over 100 degrees.

"You should be on bed rest, Mia." Tara looked over at Happy who nodded.

"I'll take time off from the club. Emergencies only." Happy knew the timing wasn't great but he didn't have a choice. He wasn't going to put his family at risk. Mia shook her head.

"Tara, can you excuse us for a minute?" Mia asked. Tara left the room to give them some privacy. "Happy, you can't step away right now. This thing with my Dad, what if it wasn't an accident? After he backed out of selling the property, he started getting threats." Mia felt bad for keeping it from Happy instead of telling him right away. She just didn't want to add more to the club's plate.

"I know, Mia." He said quietly. She looked over at him with widened eyes. "He told us about the threats. The people he pissed off don't mess around. We've been trying to find a way to get him to sell."

"What? You're saying the club knew he was in danger? He's in surgery because of some stupid land. You know the people that did this?" Mia felt her heart start to race. She couldn't believe it.

"Mia, we thought it was over. He agreed to sign last week." Happy said, hating the way she was looking at him. Mia blinked.

"What do you mean he agreed to sign?" Mia thought he would die before he would sell the property.

"In exchange for selling, he was going to get the contracts for clearing the land and prepping it for construction." Happy said taking her hand gently.

"If he agreed, then why would they do this?" Mia asked, her mouth feeling drier and drier. Happy shook his head. As far as he knew, Pope's men were tied up in Oakland when it happened.

"I don't know. If you're going on bed rest, I'm staying close to home. You're going to need help and until I know who did this, I can't trust anyone else to protect you." Happy said, looking up as Tara opened the door.

"I'm sorry. Elliot just got out of surgery. The doctors are out here." She said, motioning back towards the waiting room. Happy pushed the wheelchair after Tara, hoping there was some good news. He could tell that Mia blamed him, at least for not telling her more about what was going on.

"Elliot lost a lot of blood. Normally, that isn't too terrible if a patient gets to the hospital in time. The issue is that he also had severe trauma to his head and chest. We have him in a medically induced coma for at least the next 48 hours. I'm sorry I can't be more optimistic but you should start preparing for an unfavorable outcome." The doctor looked around at the family before giving them a quick nod and leaving though the double doors.

Mia felt numb. She'd lost her mother when she was only a child and now she was facing losing her father as well. It saddened her to think that her children may never have any grandparents to spoil them. She looked over at Happy wondering what all he wasn't telling her. She worried that there was a lot more danger swirling around and through the club then he told her. She didn't want her children to lose their grandfather, but even more she didn't want them to lose their father. Unfortunately, the risk of that fear becoming a reality was greater than most mothers had to worry about.

"Let's get you home, Mia. There's nothing else we can do here." Happy said, feeling uncomfortable around Karen and Tristan. He could handle Mia being upset, he knew how to help her and how to be there for her.

"No. Whoever did this is going to find out that he's still alive and come back to finish the job. I'm not leaving him alone like a sitting duck." Mia said sternly. Happy narrowed his eyes, frustrated by her stubbornness.

"Mia, what are you going to do? You can barely get out of a chair by yourself. You aren't putting our kids in danger because you want to be some vigilante. I'm sure they've got cops back there." He looked to Tara, hoping for some back-up.

"There's a deputy outside his room. I'll call Jax and see if he can't send a prospect up here, okay?" Tara couldn't let Mia stay at the hospital all night. It wouldn't do Elliot any good and she needed rest.

"Okay. Alright." Mia said, nodding as she swallowed a lump in her throat. Tara helped Mia back to her car as Happy left through the side door to his bike. "There's something he's not telling me."

"He wears the kutte, Mia. There's always going to be something he's not telling you. Do you trust him?" Tara asked, opening the car door. Mia nodded without hesitation. "Then trust him. If you want to know something then ask him. If he can't tell you then you have to trust that there's a reason. That's the difference between your relationship and Jax and I. Jax says he tells me everything but really, he keeps me in the dark. I wish I could say I trusted him. I try."

"I'm sorry, Tara. Here I am whining and complaining." Mia felt horrible for mentioning the subject. She and Tara had spoken at length about how she and Jax were going through a rough patch. Mia knew that Jax probably didn't even notice. Like every other man, he was too caught up in the club to realize that there were problems at home. Mia was lucky. Happy made a strong effort to always make time for he and Mia, even when he couldn't be around physically, he'd always call her and stay on the phone for as long as she wanted.

"Don't apologize, Mia. Just because I have issues doesn't mean you can't. I'm always here for you." She said with a smile. Mia returned her smile while undoing the seatbelt. Happy opened the passenger door and offered her his hand. She took it and immediately felt her doubts start to wane. Tara was right, Mia thought, as long as he was part of the club there would be things he couldn't or wouldn't tell her. She knew that from day one. He had yet to give her a reason to doubt him.

"Are you hungry?" Happy asked once they'd gone inside and gotten settled. She nodded despite the sick feeling in her stomach. She knew she needed to eat for the babies and hoped it would make her feel a little better.

"Baby?" Mia asked, turning to look over the couch as he walked into the kitchen. They had chosen a house with a more open floor plan so that being in different rooms wouldn't cause a disconnect. Mia thought it was also going to be especially helpful with the twins. "I trust you."

"Good." Happy said, opening the refrigerator to find something to make for dinner. He knew Mia could tell he wasn't being completely honest with her about what was going on with the club and Elliot. It was hard, as he'd be open with her about almost everything else. He knew that keeping her in the dark was keeping her safe though, at least for now. There would come a time he would tell her everything, but not until they were in the clear. "Did you pay the water bill?"

"Yeah, last week, why?" Mia asked curiously. Happy tried the faucet again. No water. He tapped the toe of his boot against the bottom of the cabinet. If the bill was paid then it had to be off for another reason. They'd just gotten home and didn't see any wrecks or busted water mains. He didn't like it.

"I guess they have a water main break or something. How do you feel about pizza?" Happy asked, pulling his phone out.

"Mmmmm pineapple and mushroom!" Mia said with a huge smile. Happy raised his brow but called the number anyway.

"That's gross, baby." He said as he waited for someone to answer. He placed the delivery order and then sat down on the couch beside his wife. He relaxed a little, letting himself enjoy her presence. She smiled and scooted down closer to him. "Do you like the name Rose?"

"I do. It's pretty." Mia said, tracing her fingers over Happy's bicep. He nodded and kissed her fingers. "How about Roman?"

"It's good." Happy said closing his eyes and resting his head on the couch cushion. Mia shifted so that her legs were in his lap and closed her eyes as well, she was exhausted. Happy woke with a jolt when the doorbell sounded. His hand flew under his kutte and wrapped around his Glock.

"Pizza, baby." Mia mumbled, pushing herself up from the couch to go to the bathroom. It felt like the twins were playing soccer with her bladder. Happy waited until she was down the hall before he opened the door. He positioned his foot behind the door to keep it just open enough for the exchange of money for pizza.

"Twenty-three oh seven." The young man with red cheeks said, opening the vinyl bag. Happy kept moving his eyes from his wallet to the man's hands, waiting for something out of the ordinary. The pizza was handed over and Happy let the man keep the change out of forty, just to get him to leave quickly. He checked the pizzas before backing into the house and locking the front door back.

"Hap?" Mia noticed the extra caution he was taking with everything. He didn't respond and instead took the pizzas into the kitchen. He came back to the couch with two slices for each of them. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." He said, taking a bite of his plain cheese pizza. He'd ordered his own pizza to avoid suffering through pineapple and mushroom. He turned on the television to drown out the noise of cars passing on the street. He wanted to relax. He didn't want to be on edge.

"Can you get that?" Mia asked, pointing towards her vibrating phone on the coffee table. Happy nodded and glanced down at the number. Instead of passing it to her, he answered it.

"Hello?" He recognized the number. It was the hospital.

"Mr. Lowman? Is Mia there?" The girl sounded young, probably not even a licensed nurse yet.

"She is. She's busy. What's going on?" Happy knew Mia was irritated that he was keeping the phone from her. He didn't want any bad news coming from anyone but him.

"Elliot is going back into surgery. The swelling on his brain started getting worse. We will call as soon as there is any news." The nurse said quickly. Happy could hear bells and buzzers going off in the background.

"Okay." Happy ended the call and handed the phone to a very unhappy Mia. "They're taking your dad back in for another surgery. She said they'll call when they know anything."

"You couldn't let me talk to them?" Mia asked. She furrowed her brow and pursed her lips.

"If it was any worse news I didn't want them upsetting you." Happy said, sitting back down on the couch and ignoring her anger towards him. He knew she wouldn't stay mad at him.

"So you'd prefer to upset me?" Mia said, rolling her eyes. She tried to finish her second piece of pizza but it was making her stomach churn. "Happy, we need to go to the hospital."

"Mia, they'll call us when they know something." Happy said, annoyed by having to repeat himself. Mia shook her head and he looked over at her. Her face was twisted with pain and her knuckles were white from gripping the arm of the couch. "Alright, baby. Okay."

Happy wasn't ready. He thought they'd have at least a few more weeks before being on baby watch. He tried to remember how early Abel was. He couldn't handle his kids going through what Jax's boy went through the first few weeks of his life. He wanted his kids healthy and strong.

"Breathe, Mia." Happy said, getting in the driver's seat. He couldn't follow his own advice. He felt like there was a boulder lodged in his throat. "Where does it hurt?"

"My back and around my stomach." Mia struggled to say. Another wave of pain was hitting her and taking her breath away. Happy nodded and gave her his hand, letting her squeeze it tightly. "I'm scared, Happy."

"I know baby girl. I am to." He didn't see the point in lying. She knew him better than anyone and he wanted her to know that she wasn't alone. "I'm right here, baby."

"If it's between me and them, pick them Happy. Please." Mia said, fighting back tears as the doctors put her in a wheelchair. He shook his head, lengthening his steps to keep up with her.

"All three of you are going to be okay, Mia." He took her hand and gave her a smile to help her nerves. She felt another wave of pain and squeezed his hand tightly, his reaper ring cutting into the skin of his fingers on either side of it. The doctors moved her onto the hospital bed as another woman wheeled in a portable ultrasound machine. Happy stood by the head of the bed, giving the doctors room to work but staying close to Mia.

"When did the contractions start?" The woman with the ultrasound machine asked, running the wand over Mia's stomach.

"I was feeling funny today but I thought it was just indigestion. It really started hurting about twenty minutes ago." Mia said, looking at the screen. The woman nodded and turned to the other doctors in the room.

"I need you to prep a delivery room for me. I also want an OR on standby." She said. Mia bit her lip and looked at Happy.

"Where's her regular doctor?" He asked, doubting the woman's ability to take care of his family. She looked even younger than Mia and Tara.

"We're trying to reach her, Mr. Lowman. My focus is on making sure the babies and your wife are safe. I don't have time to wait for your doctor." She said, showing an authority that surprised Mia. Happy gritted his teeth before giving her a curt nod. He wasn't going to argue that Mia and the twins mattered most.

"Hap, will you call Tristan and Tara? Just let them know what's going on. I don't want them to come down here." Mia asked as he walked beside her. They were moving to the delivery room and she wanted to make sure Tristan and Tara knew what was going on. Happy nodded and stopped just outside the room to make the two, quick calls.

Nine hours later, Happy was walking down the hall to the cafeteria to get Mia some jello when he saw Tristan. She was crying and pushing Karen away. He slowed down and approached them cautiously. The young girl looked up and saw her brother-in-law. Seconds later, she was in his arms, crying onto his SAMCRO hooded sweatshirt. He held her close, knowing something had to have happened with Elliot. His phone had been off since calling Tara and Tristan. Mia had been in labor ever since, fighting as hard as she could to keep from having a C-section. It was getting to the point that she wasn't going to have a choice.

"He's gone, Happy. He woke up after the surgery and we talked to him for a few minutes. He seemed okay. He knew who we were and asked if Mia was okay. One minute, he was okay and the next he was shaking and convulsing." She shook her head with a sob and hugged him tightly. He closed his eyes, wishing things had gone differently. He knew it was going to wreck Mia.

"I'm sorry, kid." He said, lost at what to say to her. She sobbed and pulled back, wiping her cheeks with the back of her hand.

"How's Mia?" She said, hoping to get her mind off her grief. He shrugged and ran his hand over his head.

"Fighting a C-section. If they aren't delivered in an hour then she doesn't have a choice. You can come see her if you want. Just," He trailed off as Tristan nodded.

"I won't say anything. This is supposed to be a happy day." She said, her voice barely a whisper. Happy nodded slowly and squeezed her shoulder.

"You need anything, you know where we live." Happy offered. She nodded with a small, forced smile. "I'm going to get her jello before she stabs me with my own knife. She's in room 412 if you want to go down there."

"Okay." Tristan said, watching Happy walk down the hall. She looked over to her mother who seemed frozen with pain and sadness. Tristan frowned and sat down next to her, taking her hand and just sitting in silence. She was happy for her big sister but she couldn't trust herself not to give the bad news away.

Mia didn't even get to finish her jello before Rose decided she was ready to meet the world. Happy was pretty sure he would have fainted if it wasn't for Mia practically breaking his hand. Minutes after Rose was delivered, Roman came into the world kicking a screaming. Happy let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding in as soon as the doctors said they looked healthy. Mia beamed up at Happy, over joyed that they were okay. He had a couple tears running down his cheeks and into his five o'clock shadow.


	20. Chapter 20

The twins were early but healthy. They weren't in incubators but they did have oxygen masks to help them breathe for the first couple of days. Mia didn't want to leave their sides. She wasn't taking Elliot's death well. Happy thought that she would cry and go through the normal stages of grief. It worried him that she just didn't acknowledge it. It was more than denial. She just seemed to ignore it.

"Mia, we need to go if we're going to the service." Happy said, leaning against the wall of windows surrounding the twins' private room. Mia didn't move or comment. "Mia."

"What's the point? He won't know if I go or not." She said flatly. Happy sighed and let his shoulders fall forward. He was getting aggravated.

"What about your little sister, Mia? What about her? The longer you put of grieving, the worse it's going to be. At least go for Tristen." Happy said, trying to keep the anger out of his voice. Mia lowered her head and Happy ran his hand over her shoulders.

"Okay. Can you have someone come down and make sure the twins are safe?" Mia asked, worried about leaving them. Happy knew she was terrified of someone hurting Rose or Roman. Normally, he was the over protective one but the rolls seemed to be reversed.

"Juice and Chibs are already in the waiting room, baby. No one is going to get to them." Happy said, looking down proudly at his son and daughter. They were getting stronger and stronger. Rose already had some hair and Roman nearly had a scowl perfected. Ever since they were born, he was seeing everything in his life in a new way. He couldn't deny that he was still the same person but he was driven to return to his family whole more than anything else.

"Okay, well let's go before they wake up." Mia said, standing slowly. She looked down at the black dress she was wearing and sighed. "I look terrible."

"You look perfect, Mia. You just had twins." Happy said, taking her hand. She scoffed and he stopped, turning around to look her in the eye. "You worried about looking good for somebody else? I already told you you're perfect."

"No, I just think you're being nice." She said quietly. She felt bad for putting him through her mood swings. She'd put up walls, barring him from seeing just how much pain she was in. He was trying and she appreciated that, she just couldn't bare to talk about it. If she talked about it then it would be real. All of the what if's and guilt, it was just too much.

"I'm not a nice person. Thought you would have figured that out by now." Happy said after they got into her car. She frowned at the clip in his voice. Mia took his hand and let the dust settle between them as he drove out to the cemetery. "I love you, Mia. You don't ever need to question that."

"I know, Happy. I love you." Mia said, her chest tightening as they came to a stop behind Karen's Mercedes. She didn't want to get out of the car. Happy gave her hand a squeeze and she looked over to him, wishing he'd turn the car around and take them back to the hospital.

"You can make it through this." He said, killing the engine and unlocking the doors. Mia took a deep breath, so deep she didn't know how her lungs held it all. After a couple seconds, she let it all out while opening the door. She took Happy's hand and they walked side by side to the crowd up the hill. With every step she took, she felt more and more sadness washing over her.

Tristen looked up and saw her big sister and brother-in-law walking up at the end of the opening prayer. She was surprised Mia came. She didn't look like she'd just given birth to twins. Beside the rings around her eyes, she looked great. Her hair was pulled back into a twist and her black, chiffon dress looked like something off a runway. Tristen shook her head, knowing Mia could make even a paper bag look designer. She just had that look. When you paired her with Happy who was in an uncharacteristic white button down and dark jeans, sans kutte, they looked like some type of outlaw royalty.

Happy glanced around at the crowd, looking for anyone that didn't belong. He didn't know everyone that had showed up to pay their respects, but he knew what he was looking for. He was looking for someone that appeared to be there on business instead of respect. After a few minutes he relaxed, slightly. His attention turned to Mia when he felt her hand getting sweaty. She was hiding her eyes behind oversized sunglasses but he didn't miss the occasional quiver of her bottom lip.

"Would anyone like to say a few words?" The priest asked, closing his leather-bound bible. Mia felt her feet moving before she realized what was happening. She walked to the casket and placed her hand on the glossy mahogany.

"When I was little, my father always used to call me an angel, his angel. He was caring and gentle. I don't ever remember him hurting anything more than a spider that I stood on top of the counter to get away from. He was a good person. He was a good father. I wish he could have met his first grandchildren but I have no doubt he'll be watching over them. It's his turn to be the angel. I love you, Dad." She pressed her fingertips to her lips and passed a kiss onto the cool wood. Tristen gave her a small smile as Mia returned to Happy's side.

"Mia, can I have a word?" Karen asked after the service adjourned. Happy paused by her side until Mia gave him a small nod. He didn't trust Karen. She'd be decent for the past few days but that didn't clean her slate with him. "I'm sorry to bring this up now but I haven't been able to get in touch with you. The attorney needs to meet with the three of us, you, Tristen and myself. It's about the estate."

"When?" Mia asked softly. Karen tucked a strand of loose, hair behind her ear before answering.

"Tomorrow morning. Eight o'clock at Elliot's office." Her voice cracked when she spoke her late husband's name. Mia patted Karen's arm sympathetically.

"I'll be there. If you need anything, just call me." Mia whispered, giving Karen a parting hug. She glanced back towards the gravesite and noticed Tristen had disappeared. They'd spoken briefly after the service but her little sister was very reserved and shut down. "Give her some time. When I lost my Mom, it took a while before I stopped acting out."

"Tell the babies hello for me. I'd love to see them sometime." Karen said. Mia smiled and felt her heart starting to thaw at the mention of her children.

"That would be great." Mia said as they parted ways. Happy was waiting by the passenger door with a cigarette between his lips. Mia thought he was going to open the door for her, but he was staring at something up the hill in front of him. She followed his gaze and saw Tristen in the arms of a teen with slicked back hair and a leather jacket. Mia watched them for a couple minutes and realized they were more than just friends. "Hap, not now."

"She's too good for him." He muttered, opening the door for Mia. She laughed lightly and shook her head. "What?"

"You don't even know him. What if someone said that about us?" Mia asked as Happy got in the car. He nodded and shrugged his shoulder.

"They'd be right." He said. Mia shook her head and looked at her sister and the young man as Happy maneuvered the car out of the cemetery. They had turned away from where Karen's Mercedes was still parked and started walking, hand in hand.

Mia's hands shook as she looked at the paper the attorney had handed her. She hadn't expected much more than the apartment if even that. From what the attorney had explained to her and what was documented on the paper she was asked to sign, Elliot had left her a lot more than she'd ever expected. The will had been updated over a year ago, according to the date stamped beside her father's elegant signature. Mia was left the apartment, 150 acres of land and a large trust fund.

"Mrs. Lowman, is there something you would like to contest?" The attorney asked, leaning over the desk. Mia looked up and blinked at him at couple times. She swallowed hard and shook her head.

"N-o-o. I just wasn't prepared for this." Mia said, glancing over at Karen. She'd expected her step-mother to be angry or upset. If she was, she was doing a good job of hiding it. "Um, do you have a map of what land this is?"

"Let's see." He started thumbing through a folder before nodding and pulling the deed out and laying it in front of Mia. "Are you familiar with the parcel?"

"Very." Mia said, her heart racing. It was the same land her father may have been killed over. The club hadn't been able to prove it yet, but there was little to no doubt that it was Pope's crew. "Thank you."

Mia signed her name slowly and slid it back towards the attorney. She didn't know what to do. That land had already caused bloodshed. The attorney stamped the document and slid it into the copy machine. Karen followed Mia and Tristen out of the office after everything had been squared away. She had tears in her eyes.

"Mia, I would love to have you over for dinner soon. I know Elliot always hoped we could get along. The least we can do is try." Karen said putting on her sunglasses to hide her tears. Mia was distracted by the deed that was inside the envelope she was holding. She just nodded with a small smile.

"Can I go back to the hospital to see Rose and Roman?" Tristen asked, pushing herself up on her toes and batting her eyelashes. Mia blinked and looked at her little sister, having missed what was asked.

"I can pick her up in an hour or two." Karen said, wanting to give her daughter some form of happiness. Mia nodded slowly.

"Sure, that's fine." She needed to talk to Happy about the land as soon as possible. Tristen could sit with the twins while they talked in the hall. "Here, you can drive."

"Sweet!" Tristen said, taking the keys. She had gotten her learner's permit a couple weeks ago and was itching to drive as much as possible. "What's bothering you?"

"What? It's nothing. Just signing all that made everything so final. Like the book on his life was just slammed shut." Mia said. It was true, it just wasn't what was bothering her most.

"Yeah, I know. He promised to take me driving on the PCH this weekend." Tristen said with a frown. Mia dropped her eyes and nodded. He had taken her driving on the PCH shortly after getting her own learner's permit. Mia's attention was brought to the present when Tristen tried to park the car. She was almost diagonal in the parking spot. "Sorry."

"It's fine. Just back up and try again. Use the camera and your mirrors so you don't hit anything." Mia said, especially hoping she missed the new BMW beside them. Tristen took a deep breath and creeped the SUV out of the spot. Mia nodded and pointed towards the space again. "Good now just line it up and pull in. Don't use the gas, just let off on the break and let the transmission pull us in."

Mia knew the car still wasn't straight but it was a lot better than Tristen's first try. Juice was leaning against the wall by the front door, smoking a cigarette right under the no smoking sign. Mia laughed and paused to speak with him, sending Tristen ahead.

"You're just a rebel at heart, aren't you?" Mia asked with a little laugh. It was the first time Juice had seen her laugh in days. He glanced up at the sign she pointed at and smiled brightly.

"I guess so. Anarchy in it's purest form. You doing okay?" He asked, flipping the cigarette into a bush. She shrugged her shoulder, tired of lying when no one really believed her.

"I actually have a question." She said, glancing around to make sure no one was around. Juice raised his brow, caught of guard. "If the deed to land or a house, something like that, is transferred when someone dies, is that public record?"

"Uh, yeah. It's not like when property is sold though. When it transfers the county runs it through the paper in case anyone wants to contest it or whatever. It's the few pages of the paper most people never even read." He said with a shrug. It took him a second before he realized what she was asking. "Wait, that land of your old man's? He left it to you, didn't he?"

"Yeah. Is there any way to keep it out of the paper?" Mia asked. Juice took a deep breath, trying to plan it out.

"I may be able to hack the records and delay it but that's the kind of thing they have hard copies of to. I'll see what I can do. Might be able to buy you a couple days." Juice said with a reassuring smile. Mia nodded and gave him a hug before walking into the hospital to find Happy and tell him the news.

SAMCRO***SOA***SAMCRO

Readers, I haven't given up on Glitter and Ink, I'm just trying to finish this story out before getting back to it. Work is more demanding and hectic than ever. I appreciate your patience and your continued support! xoxo Ashley


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